Customer Reviews

The Laramie Project [VHS]

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Perhaps you have to have some prior knowledge of the subject matter of this film in order to properly appreciate it. ... I don't think so, but maybe I'm wrong. As a person, a human being, hearing the words of actual human beings who are trying to sort through their feelings after a tragedy, I would have been moved had I known nothing of the death of Matthew Shepard (as it is, I knew very little before viewing this movie).

What initially attracted me to this film was the fact that it was an HBO production, and I've seen several quality HBO productions in the past. I'd heard a little about the Matthew Shepard case, and I wanted to know more. So I saw the film.

First, this film isn't really a documentary-it's a dramatazation of interviews and conversations that members of a New York theatre troupe conducted with citizens of Laramie, Wyoming These interviews served as the basis for the play "The Laramie Project." It's a little distracting at first, because the film is shot in documentary-style and yet the people who are supposed to be citizens of the town are recognizable actors and actresses (such as Steve Buscemi and Christina Ricci). And I wondered how much of the dialogue was real and how much was fictional. But once I got over those concerns, I became engrossed in the story (after all, movies are fiction anyway). And what a story. For those who don't know, Matthew Shepard was a 21 year old college student who was brutally beaten and left for dead in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. The young men who attacked him were Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney. Shepard was in a coma for a week before he died on October 12, 1998. Shepard was [homosexual], and his killers claimed that he'd made passes at them, and so they decided to drive him to the edge of town, tie him up, and beat him. To teach him a lesson.

Whether Shepard learned his lesson or not is unknown, since he died soon after the attack. But the citizens of Laramie sure seem to be learning something, and they want to talk about it. The townspeople who were interviewed are a mix of [homosexual] residents, college professors, college students, and outraged citizens. The young man who found Matthew Shepard, the Police Officer who was the first on the scene, a friend of Shepard's named Romaine, and a local Catholic Priest are standouts. The emotions run the gamut from young people trying to reconcile what they've always been taught (that homosexuality is wrong) with the message that it's just another lifestyle choice, to others who believe that no one deserves to be beaten that way-but hey, Shepard shouldn't have been hitting on those young men...A local pastor prays that Shepard had time in the last moments of his life to repent and turn to Christ, a local Priest calls citizens together for a candlelight vigil, and all the while the members of the theatre troupe record the reactions of the townspeople as they themselves are touched and changed by what they see.

Here we have people talking, people yelling, people laughing, people crying. Everyone has been affected in one way or another by the tragedy, and what they say as they struggle to put their feelings into words (and the emotions that are so compellingly portrayed by the actors and actresses here) make for a startling portrayal of human emotion. The story is told not just through words but through music, through facial expressions, through moments of silence that no words can fill. Part character study, part "documentary," part "message film," "The Laramie Project" succeeds as excellent storytelling. In a word: Haunting. Apparently, it's not for everyone. But I don't see why not.

Matthew Shepard's murder affected me very strongly and still does. I could have seen the stage version of this piece, as I was in New York when it was playing, but was too afraid (for the same reason, I haven't seen Boys Don't Cry). And this apparently truncated HBO version is a very tough film to watch.
It's excellent despite limitations imposed, we may assume, by the complex finances of TV. The cast is uniformly fine - I especially loved Margo Martindale, Terry Kinney (who would have given a shattering reading of Mr. Dennis Shepard's complete courtroom speech), Dylan Baker, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan and Frances Sternhagen, but everyone just GAVE so much! (I know other reviewers have carped about some of the performances, and I think it's worth pointing out that these actors donated their services to this project.)
The people of Wyoming are not treated patronizingly - the film contains, in fact, a thinly veiled indictment of the 1998 media which did sometimes treat these people as hicks. And the script, of course, is based on transcripts from interviews with these people, and like interviews with anyone, there are idiosyncracies and lapses in grammar. Of course there are rednecks - as there are in Los Angeles or even Manhattan. But the citizens of Laramie overwhelmingly recoil from this senseless tragedy, and the most horrifying character - aside from the killers, and maybe even more than them - is "Reverend" Fred Phelps, as he was at the time - and he's an outsider.
One person is conspicuously absent from this film, and that is Matthew Shepard. The Laramie Project is about the reaction of citizens to the brutality of his murder and the response of that city to the influx of international media attention.
During the past five years, Dennis and Judy Shepard have done incredible work to help stamp out hate crimes everywhere, and we all owe them immeasurable respect and compassion. But I bet they'd give it up in a fraction of a second to have their son back for even one hour.
As a member of the so-called gay community, I have always felt uneasy with this tendency - and the movie contributes to it - to treat Matthew Shepard primarily as a symbol and a martyr. He was a human being, and he deserved to go on being one.
Matthew Shepard was not even 22 years old when he died.

The 1998 gay hate crime murder of, Matthew Shepard, really hurt many people around the world, including myself. The very fact that this sweet young man, so slight in height and weight, with an angelic face could be kidnapped by two idiot kids, tied to a spit rail wooden fence and pistol whipped and tortured until his skull was literally bashed with fractures, and then left there to die, tied to that fence for 18 hours in the near freezing temperatures until a bicyclist came upon him. Matthew was at this time, in a coma, and for 4 days the world watched, waited, and hoped he would recover. Matthew did not. He died October 12th, 1998 in the hospital.This film, through a series of massive interviews with the residents of this town, is done in a documentary style, with the actors repeating the words collected in those interviews.It is very well made, very powerful and also very very sad. They filmed this in the actual town. You get to see the inside of the bar Matt was in before his abduction, as well as the college he attended, the rail fence he was tied to (THANK GOD NO MURDER IS RE-CREATED HERE), as well as the actual courtroom the trial took place at.Hopefully, people who are homophobic can see by watching this film, people are people--no matter if they are of a different race or sexual orientation.We all need to stand UNITED, encourage state laws to include zero tolerance of gay hate crimes.Matthew Shepard did not deserve to die. If anything good can come from such an evil thing that happened, let's hope this movie can open some eyes and we can stop the hate and innocent people being murdered.

My hat goes off to Mr. Kaufman and his associates for developing this truly inspired document. It's hard to believe but I've heard people ask "what makes this individual case more important than others." Nothing and everything. It's a tragedy whenever a life is taken, but when the only motivation is hate it impacts everyone. Great performances are plentiful here - and a number of our finest players make the most of beautifully written roles - Kathleen Chalfant, Steve Buscemi, Frances Sternhagen, Laura Linney, Christina Ricci and (my favorite) Bill Irwin. Don't miss this one.

This is an amazing real life story. It is moving to the point where you cannot believe the mental capacity of some of the human race. I will be directing the stage version of The Laramie Project this summer so, I wanted a little more of a visual stand point. If you like powerful, moving stories; this ones for you.

This is an excellent film! I really urge everyone to put this film at the top of their list of must-sees. I thought the acting and the direction were absolutely incredible and the movie has really stayed with me. It is a very unique kind of film because it uses actual interviews from real people as its script. I was skeptical when I first heard about it as I really didn't want to see a violent, graphic movie depicting or re-enacting a hate crime, but so many different people were telling me I HAD to see it that I decided to risk it. Whether you remember or don't remember the details of the killing of gay university student Matthew Shepard it doesn't matter. The movie is not really about the crime itself but with how the people of Laramie, WY dealt with it. In the end the movie is totally inspiring and uplifting, with humor and thought-provoking scenes throughout. It is really about where America is today. I put it in my all-time top ten!

I purchased this DVD having never seen the film when it aired on HBO. I was reluctant to view it because I wasn't sure if the material was going to be handled respectfully and appropriately.
My fears were put to rest quickly as the film progressed. The actors are wonderfully fit for their characters, the subject matter was very well covered and done tastefully and factually. My hat goes off to everyone who had a part in the creation of this remarkable film. This movie should be required viewing for all humans... Matthew Shepard, you are greatly missed....

I am currently participating in a production of Laramie and watched the movie with my cast and director as a research tool. Despite trying to keep a distance from the emotions that I had already experienced through the wording in the play and trying to only analyze the characters, I still wound up sobbing, along with the rest of my cast.

This movie and play both tap into a part of the human spirit that I can't quite put my finger on. I feel that anyone who has had any kind of loss or sorrow in their life cannot help but be moved and affected by this movie. I myself have had very little, but the unbridled emotional power that arises from the words and dialogue gets me every time. "Go home and hug your kids, and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them." Just from tyipng that and having it running through my head, I almost have a tear running down my eye.

I felt that this movie was also well-casted. I've read that people thought that the character of Jedidiah or of a few others were not played well. I didn't feel that way. All the characters were well-portrayed and beautifully done.

Get this movie, or at the very least rent it and watch it. It is a powerful and possibly life-changing experience.

This documentary was thought provoking and insightful. R.I.P. Matthew with the angels and God!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this film, but what i found was it to be a great account of the horrific murder of Matthew Shepard. It was chilling, startling, but most importantly real. At some points in the film, you forgot you were watching a re-enactment of the interviews that were carried out; you forgot you were watching a film. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and would recommend anyone to see it.

PS. It is a tear jerker!!