★ 6 / 10
If you're at all familiar with the television
CinemaSerf
If you're at all familiar with the television movie made about the brutal slaughter of Matthew Shepard from 2002, you'll already know why New York's Tectonic…
If you're at all familiar with the television movie made about the brutal slaughter of Matthew Shepard from 2002, you'll already know why New York's Tectonic Theatre Company descended upon the town of Laramie. Home to just shy of 30,000 citizens, this town has been rocked by the recent homophobic attack on a twenty-one year old man by two young men who pistol whipped him before tying him to a fence in a nearby field and leaving him to die of his wounds and of hypothermia. The actors/writers have decided to theatrically recreate some of this story and so are travelling the length and breadth of the town seeking interviews with the residents - all whilst the town deals with it's own feelings of anger and guilt and whilst their courthouse tries the two men who are accused of perpetrating the crime. The timeline here begins whilst Shepard is still alive - comatose, but still alive, and by using a combination of news actuality and some poignant acting contributions from the likes of Dylan Baker (his doctor) and the usually quite effective Kathleen Chalfant this tries to get into the inner thoughts of a community that is largely, though not exclusively, disgusted by the behaviour of two young men. There's a lot of "this couldn't happen here" going on; a fair degree of public protest and a few reminders that "faggots will die in hell" from folks who didn't consider the murder of a gay lad to be such an heinous crime. Indeed, one individual suggested that he hoped the severely injured man used his last few moments of consciousness to reflect on his "lifestyle". It's grim stuff, mostly, and it serves to showcase just how a veneer of tolerance and acceptability can be smashed when drunken frenzy takes hold. Sadly, though, the construction of this film is a bit all over the place and I found the hybrid style of it's production left me uncertain as to what was real and what was derived from some fairly painful transcriptions. Of course, those do give a contemporaneousness to the storytelling but they also serve to provide a load of extra opinions that distract a little from the thrust of a story of three families - one of the victim, two of the killers themselves, which is left a little undeveloped. It also looks at the role of religion and faith, of community and of forgiveness and as the deceased man's father puts it at the end, perhaps it illustrates that from this crime might an healing process begin that extends beyond their own homes? It could have made for a better documentary than a docu-drama, I think.
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★ 8 / 10
HBO films presents an extensive cast doing a
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HBO films presents an extensive cast doing a dramatization of a terrible tragedy that should happen to no one The true story recounting the beating of a gay…
HBO films presents an extensive cast doing a dramatization of a terrible tragedy that should happen to no one The true story recounting the beating of a gay college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming from over 200 interviews in the city of Laramie Dozens of interviews of people played by Peter Fonda, Clea Duvall, Jeanine Garafalo, Laura Linney, Christina Ricci, Steve Buscemi, Dylan Baker, Joshua Jackson, Clancy Brown, and Margo Martindale Laramie is live and let live; many of its residents are strict Catholic and very homophobic Yet the film crew covering the story draw enough heat to get people on both sides of the issue The whole country watches with even having protesters calling for the attackers to answer for their crimes Matthew barely survived by remaining in a coma and his attackers were brought before the justice system yet one of the officers was sadly exposed to him being HIV positive after he bled profusely from his injuries His passing then shifted things entirely I like that this isn't an ordinary documentary film; it's pacing is brisk, the actors give it their all to portray real-life individuals dealing with the aftermath, the music is touching, and it has everybody not choosing a particular side about what's right or wrong In America you don't have the right to feel the fear that plagues every day, we never understand the magnitude of people's hatred, the hurt can still come for those gone that can't speak for themselves, maybe time can filter out some things, how can things change and what can come out of it that's concrete and lasting? It's sad that we learn the underlying fears gay people have to go through every day from pretending to be straight and avoiding persecution or physical violence if they're ever outed Director Moisés Kaufman amazingly handles this documentary drama with such care, no skimping on the important stuff, and saying something about a small town that feels strongly about hate, outrage, sadness, and hope This offers great insight of changing attitudes of America along with the swirling emotions Laramie goes through; it questions our basic humanity, and gives an accurate picture of the current state of affairs of tolerance in America's schizoid version of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Sooner or later we have to confront ourselves
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★ 7 / 10
I don't like the monolog based approach but
Steve D
I don't like the monolog based approach but it is powerful and beautifully acted.
I don't like the monolog based approach but it is powerful and beautifully acted.
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TOMATOMETER
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· 5K ratings
7.1/10
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