I knew from the first second "she" appeared on screen and I was like 14.
I was like "Are these people serious right now? This is a full grown man!!!" Then she started talking in that smooth baritone. Y'all play to damn much if you say you couldn't tell!
[deleted]
Even the director and Jaye Davidson himself said they were surprised so many people didn't know the 'secret.'
However, I once knew a transsexual who was 6'3", burly and built and she was convinced no one could tell she was biologically a male. Strange, I know. If anyone said anything about it she'd become angry and defensive, then turn right back around claiming no one would ever guess she's really a man. Ironically though, there were people that did act as if they totally believed she was a female without question. I'm not sure if they were only playing along or they really believed it.
I didn't know, but then I saw it way back when, and knew nothing about the film, except some people I knew whose tastes I respect said it was worth seeing.
There are plenty of androgynous-looking people, so Dil's voice and appearance wasn't a tip-off.
I loved it. It hooked me right from the premise of the relationship between Jody and Fergus, and then carried me through to the end.
In the DVD extras they were saying that at first they wanted the 'secret' to be revealed right from the beginning because everyone in Dil's life knew she was transgender (although they called him/her a transvestite, instead) so it seemed dishonest to not reveal that to the audience right from the beginning instead of waiting until halfway through the movie. I think they thought it would be more intriguing to wait to reveal Dil's secret.
It was also very interesting how everyone, except for Fergus, treated Dil's transgenderism as matter-of-factly. Even Jude had to have known because she knew everything else about Dil; where she lived, where she worked, and was even sitting in the Metro when Jimmy and Dil walked in. This transsexual friend of mine was saying that too when it came out and she saw the movie on a flight, how everyone treated the subject as 'So what, who cares' and they simply carried on with the movie never really mentioning it.
Good point about it being unlikely Jude didn't know.
I'd have to watch it again -- it's been many years -- to see what they meant about it being dishonest to hold off on the reveal, although for me it was very effective.
Fergus being the only one who didn't treat Dil's transgenderism made sense to me. He'd assumed Dil was a woman, and unexpectedly found himself falling for her. Complicating it all were his feelings of guilt about and genuine like for Jody.
I saw it at the theater when it came out with two female friends of mine and we were all stunned. I thought the film was just about the IRA. A gay male friend of mine at the time said it was obvious to him because of the size of Dil’s hands.
share