Passing

First time director Rebecca Hall makes a movie about passing for white. Her mother was a black opera singer who was light-skinned and so the subject matter invited itself as a matter of personal interest. 

Set in 1929, protagonist Irene Redfield is recognized in a very nice restaurant by former high school friend Claire who is now living her life passing as white. Irene is shocked at the transformation (blonde hair and all) even as she herself blends in well to white society under her snuggly-fitting flapper hat. Her brim is lowered at key moments when suspicion threatens her with trouble. 

Irene lives a more affluent life in Harlem than most black people of her time and she and her husband can afford to have a maid. However they are still second class citizens in an America that has always had and continues to have a clear pecking order. 

Claire is living in stealth but is married to a racist white man who has no idea of his wife's origins. She is getting tired of her life and the cover up and it gets increasingly complicated from there. 

The parallels with transgender people invite themselves here. The hierarchy of privilege, how people use it and how messy life is in general.