Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver’s latest film (Re)Assignment is playing in the Toronto International Film Festival, and its plot is really pissing a lot of people off. From social justice warrior critics, to SJW keyboard warriors, the internet is awash with transphobia accusations lobbed at the movie.
(Re)Assignment is the tale of a male ace hitman (Michelle Rodriguez) who kills the brother of a back-alley surgeon (Sigourney Weaver). As revenge, Weaver kidnaps the hitman and turns him into a woman. According to Rodriguez on Instagram “it’s in the B Movie genre, a culture shock pic, shot like a ‘film Noir’ graphic novel.”
The film has been controversial since its inception. Some believed the film was belittling and exploiting experiences of transgender people.
Rodriguez took to Instagram to defend the film alongside a picture of with the fake beard and taped down breasts she adorns early in the film.
“The industry seems to be running low on edgy creativity & ‘real take a chance’ controversy…” she wrote. “I shot [sic] crazy b movie Indy to express my frustration.”
The post inevitably attracted hate from the PC police, who are often immune to the appeal of anything edgy or transgressive.
“F—k movies where being trans is contrived as ‘punishment’ for characters who do bad shit,” a commenter replied to the post. “This is f—king nasty. Your way of kicking against the status quo is transphobia, which, surprise, is part of the status quo.”
Rodriguez clarified her statement at TIFF. “This is an action genre film and we’re not trying to get psychological or deep about it, so lay off,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s an entertainment piece. Calm down guys, I’m on your team.”