The Laramie Project

Starring:Kathleen Chalfant, Laura Linney, Peter Fonda, Jeremy Davies, Nestor Carbonell, Camryn Manheim, Andy Paris, Grant Varjas, Kelli Simpkins, Clea DuVall, Billie McBride, Bill Christ, Frances Sternhagen, Michael Emerson, Margo Martindale, Steve Buscemi, Christina Ricci, Greg Pierotti, Janeane Garofalo, John McAdams (II)
Director: Moisés Kaufman
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Even though The Laramie Project has been edited down from almost three hours (the original length of the play) to a lean 96 minutes, the harrowing nature of the subject matter--the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard--and the clarity of the voices of the inhabitants of Laramie, Wyoming, give this film a remarkable emotional power. The Laramie Project was created from over 200 interviews conducted with Laramie residents before, during, and after the trials of the two boys who killed Shepard; the interviews create an amazing cross-section of American views on homosexuality, religion, class, privacy, and so much more besides. Even though it features an all-star cast--Steve Buscemi, Janeane Garofalo, Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, and Laura Linney are only a few of the recognizable faces--the material has not been glamorized and the performances are both honest and intimate. Even abbreviated, it's a remarkable piece of work. --Bret Fetzer

Description

In October 1998, 21 year-old Mathew Shepard was found savagely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. "The Laramie Project" is the portrait of a town painfully forced to confront itself in the reflective glare of the national spotlight, responding with love, anger, sympathy, support and defiance.

Customer Reviews:

Dealing With Tragedy.......2007-05-21

Read the first-hand accounts of those on scene after the death of Matthew Shepard. This collection of notes is a real eye-opener.

Amazing.......2007-03-26

I was aware about Matthew's story but never thought in those ones who actually meet him and talk to him. Even they are not the real one this work was well done and allow us to remember that this happend almost 10 years ago and it's still hapening everywhere. I think it's an excellent film to see with teenagers and people in general who needs to know about tolerance and respect of everyone's lifestyle.

thoroughly depressing ..........2007-03-06

This film, which is really just a series of re-enacted interviews, is a dismal portrayal of a community in agony. It's natural when someone you know dies to feel sad, miserable, angry and outraged. But the producers of this film dwell on the community's misery and suffering, and any opportunity to learn from this crime is lost in the raw emotions of the town's residents.

This is, quite simply, a film with an agenda. It is intended to incite anger and promote hate crime legislation. Dwelling on this crime is not going to do anyone any good.

Everyone Carries a Piece of the Truth........2007-02-26

One of the most powerful speeches witnessed in this film are those by Laura Linney, who tries to create a similarity between the death of Matthew Shepard and the accidental death of a Wyoming State Trooper that same night. It does create a moment of thought in your mind that links the power of the death of Shepard to that of the power of the media, but it is just for a fleeting moment as we are whisked back into another voice, with another opinion. That voice is both the strength and weakness of this film. As a viewer, new to this story and type of storytelling, I felt a bit over biased. I realize that instead of focusing on the death and life of Matthew Shepard, Kaufman, focused on the collective voice of the town, which was nothing but a bag of mixed messages. As I sat, thinking about this film over the course of several days, that is the only issue that I had trouble grappling. This was an emotional film, chalk full of actors giving surprising monologues about their personal opinions as we collectively watch the aftermath of such a horrid crime. We even get the chance to see how the death of Matthew Shepard caused an ill fate to another person within the community. Again, these side stories were powerful to watch because it gave a living soul to the town, but where The Laramie Project went a bit too far was the over-dramatic nature of the characters.

While I would agree that there was probably some emotion behind those that chose to take part in the interviews, I don't believe you would find such a doctor, with such a dramatic "umph" saying, "We take offense to this murder", like no other than Peter Fonda could say it. Christina Ricci, in my eyes, was the embodiment of my last statement. Perhaps Kaufman, would have benefited more by placing unknowns in the roles instead of these name Hollywood players. While they were not A-grade actors, they each did a phenomenal job in this film - but oddly, this was the problem. Steve Buscemi speaking about his relationship with Shepard made me see Buscemi being Buscemi. I didn't see the character that he was playing. I didn't see Fonda's doctor's character. I didn't see anything of value behind Ricci's character (outside of a definite Ricci being Ricci) - and while I realize that this was not a work of fiction, without the development of a known character, they were just actors speaking powerful lines. The lines stood on their own, and it was those lines that continued my attention through the film. Alas, I could not see Joshua Jackson (from Dawson's Creek) as the actual bartender or Dylan Baker as the head of the hospital because I knew these actors. I wanted better from them. The most emotional speeches came from those that I was not fully familiar with. Those like the man who watched the parade route, or the actor that played Matthew Shepard's father. These smaller, unknown bits, was what made The Laramie Project stand out and break a tear out of even the strongest wall.

I want to express again that I thought that this was a very powerful film; there were just certain moments that were using cliché elements to heighten the emotion of the story. This wasn't needed in the least bit. While I know that having the media attention when the residents of Laramie walked out of the courtroom was surprising, the film technique used to demonstrate this seemed cheap, and nearly like a low blow to the story. The glossed effect of when Ricci's character, and her mother, made angels to block the words of protestors, seemed fake on screen - while perhaps actual footage of this event would have strengthened the emotion. Perhaps I am asking too much, but when Ricci walks out with those angel wings flying high, I just expected Will Smith to come out of nowhere, screaming a line that would surely demonstrate to those protestors who was in control here. It came out a bit too Hollywood. As well as the scene where Dylan Baker cries, which I felt was the better of all the cinematic moments. It was powerful, yet subdued. It could have used more realism. Am I complaining too much? Nope, because I thought this was a brilliant film with how unique it was with its portrait of storytelling. I liked hearing the voices, in fact, if this were a story on CD, it would be a personal favorite, but because we were distracted by images of famous actors speaking in their own voice as well as unclimactic cliché scenes, it softened the blow. I was still teary at the end, but this could have been a film to rival that of Angels in America had it just tried a bit harder to avoid the Hollywood influx and paint a more vivid portrait of your average American town.

Overall, I must admit, it took me several days for this film to settle, but I think I could view it again. I especially would like to see Amy Madigan's performance, which I thought, her struggle with what happened, nearly overshadowed what happened to Matthew Shepard. I could have watched an entire film based solely on her. It is amazing what the media chooses to cover, and what they choose to ignore. I like what this film demonstrated. I like that it didn't depict this Wyoming town of rednecks and hillbillies never quite understanding what was wrong with the murder of Shepard. I am glad that we were able to see humanity break through the barriers and show emotion, show sadness, and look beyond the lifestyle to see the human being that was wrongly sentenced. I do think, nonetheless, that liberties were taken with certain actors and certain camera shots, but overall that can be overlooked. By throwing in some unknowns to this picture, I think the drama and the intensity of the event could have been heightened. This is a sad thing that happened, and I am glad that Hollywood chose to open the envelope, but they just didn't give it that final seal of approval. Actors were actors and cliché moments were used to build emotion. You already had a sad story; we didn't need the charades to improve it. I strongly suggest watching this film, if anything, to see that there is compassion within a town burdened with such a horrific crime. It is sad, and will surely bring a tear to anyone's eye.

Grade: **** out of *****

powerful reminder that this sort of thing still happens in USA.......2007-01-22

It is important to see this compelling and horrifying story because it is a powerful reminder that this sort of thing still happens in the US. What makes the film unique is that all of the dialogue was taken from actual interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyoming, the city where Matthew Shepard was murdered.

Average customer rating:

ABC News 20/20 The Matthew Shepard Case

Manufacturer: ABC News
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

amazon.com

In 2004, Matthew Shepard's killing changed the dialogue on gay life. His murder has been widely described as a hate crime, and gay activists cite it when demanding hate crime legislation. Shepard, a gay college student was severely beaten and tied to a fence by two men on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard died a few days later. He became a symbol for the gay community when the murder was deemed as an anti-gay hate crime. But was the murder of Matthew Shepard a "gay bashing," or were there other factors in play that night? Exclusive prison interviews with convicted killers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson on the events leading up to that fateful night.

Average customer rating:

Dealing With Tragedy
Amazing
thoroughly depressing ...
Everyone Carries a Piece of the Truth.
powerful reminder that this sort of thing still happens in USA

The Laramie Project [Region 2]
Starring: Kathleen Chalfant , Laura Linney , Peter Fonda , Jeremy Davies , and Nestor Carbonell
Director: Moisés Kaufman
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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