The Laramie Project (2002)

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

When i first saw this movie i was filled with many different feelings, it was an truthful, accurate story about a young man who should not have had to die because of who he was. It shows the ignorance there is in people, the fear some harbor and absolute evil there is in some. This young man, a sweet small, man someone who was someones child was killed brutally because he was gay. Because he chose to be with men. Its a story from people who knew him, of other gay people who live with the fear of being harmed for being who they are. Its a story of how things are in this day and age. Its sad, horrible and tragic that this young mans family had to lose him because there are such narrow minded homophobic people out there. It shows up the different types of hate crime and racist there is out there. Its a touching, story one that makes you think, one that makes you feel and one that makes you wish you could change things. I would recommend this movie to any one who wants to see something meaningful, something with a touch of truth, something with a lot to say. Its a great movie with a tragic loss within it.

into reality. Many previous reviewers have delineated the basic theme, as well as the excellent cast. After having seen this several times, however, I sincerely hope my review will also be read, as I wish to credit Moises Kaufman on his play, and smooth translation into film. The cast does not overpower the true story, which is a difficult feat to accomplish.When you see the car scene wherein Matthew Sheppard is being taken to the scene of his murder, it is quite chilling. The contrast of man's inhumanity to man against the beauty of the Laramie, Wisconsin landscape is stark and true. There is no melodrama here, just reality and the sad story which needs telling.The division of classes amongst college students and "townies" is shown in realistic fashion. The sad fact is this exists on most campuses, to a lesser degree, of course. The group mentality and proliferation of hatred and violence which precluded this murder are examined, as well as the townspeople's reactions to it. We see Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston as the bereaved parents, Peter Fonda as the weary physician, Janeane Garofalo as a lesbian, feeling afraid for her life. Christina Ricci and Clea Duvall also do very well, as a younger generation disrupted by violence. We also see Laura Linney, always credible, as a Laramie resident angry that the murder receives too much media attention.Overall, this is a complex and tragic subject which deserves much more attention. Highly recommended.

"...And the last thing that he saw on this Earth was the sparkling lights of Laramie, Wyoming."Characters are frequently speaking in poetics similar to that in "The Laramie Project," a film that if it weren't for its grim subject matter, could probably register somewhere as a darkly hopeful poem that would have been authored by none other than Edgar Allan Poe himself.Laramie, Wyoming was just a small dot on the U.S. Plains. It rests comfortably on plentiful farmland and everybody knows everybody and there isn't really a need to lock your door at night. But this small town in Wyoming became the center of a worldwide media frenzy for one cold, dark, chilling winter in October 1998 when 22-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and left to die tied to a fence in an open field.Laramie's citizens are quick to denounce the crime, and emphasize that, "they are not a town of hate." Matthew was beaten, as we later find out, by two local kids, because he was a homosexual. The townsfolk were all hoping these were some out-of-town people but the fact the perpetrators are locals makes it even more heinous.I guess I should say I vaguely remember the case. I'm 20 now; I was 13 and in junior high school in 1998 when this story broke. For several months, all that was on the news was Matthew Shepard, Matthew Shepard - the gay college student beaten and left to die by fellow townspeople, who were also kids themselves. Matthew, we're told, wasn't born a winner; he was scrawny, wore braces until his death, short (5'2"), but he died a hero, at least in the eyes of his father Dennis (Terry Kinney).I didn't pay much attention to the story, but looking back now, with "The Laramie Project" still fresh in my mind, I now wish I had followed it more closely. This film, directed by Venezuelan-born Moises Kaufman (and based on his own play), which is the result of a collection of over 200 interviews by his fellow (gay & lesbian) New York theater workers with the citizens of Laramie, Wyoming, sticks with you long after it's finished, as person after person expresses their thoughts, feelings, and utter outrage that something as horrific as this crime could happen in America. Only IN America, could something like this happen. We are supposed to be in a country where people can live without fear of being harassed for their creed, gender, race, or sexual orientation.Referring to the film, it makes you rethink American values and wonder: Gosh, is this the degree at which people in this country hate? As a straight African-American male, it frightens me. It utterly, utterly frightens me at how often hate is preached in this country, and people swallow it up like it's the Gospels; it's not. Also, as an agnostic, it's not my duty to say whether or not I approve of the lifestyle myself, but I don't let that cloud my judgment because gays are also people, and we aren't perfect. But still, it's disturbing to see the amount of hate and animosity that was a result of Matthew's ordeal - "GAYS BURN IN HELL," "THANK GOD FOR AIDS" - from an evangelical Christian preacher, no less! (It makes me wonder if he really believes his own garbage.)By the time the film opens, the crime has already occurred, and the two young men responsible - Aaron McKinney (Mark Webber) and Russell Henderson (Garret Neergaard) - have already been brought in and are awaiting trial, as the young (but never seen) Matthew "Matt" Shepard is dying inside a hospital with his parents at his bedside, and a brave doctor (Dylan Baker) keeps the media and nation alert on his condition."Matt," as he was often called by those closest to him, is described as a kind and down-to-earth fellow who didn't hold a grudge against anybody, gay or straight. Christina Ricci is Romaine Patterson, a lesbian who knew him well and is certain Matt's beating was no robbery but a hate crime. Two law enforcement people (Clancy Brown and Amy Madigan) involved in the investigation find their lives changed drastically as a result of Matthew: Brown's character undergoes a radical shift in his personal views on the gay community and Madigan narrowly contracts HIV from handling Matt.The story is told passionately well in many personal and candid interviews with townsfolk. There are many actors here, some familiar, some not, but each serves as everyone else's support, since there are no clear-cut stars. Other familiars include Laura Linney as a sheriff's wife, Steve Buscemi as a philosophical mechanic, Janeane Garofalo as a lesbian school teacher, Joshua Jackson as a bartender, and Jeremy Davies as a theater student who gets the lead in "Angels in America."By the end of it all, the cameras pack up and leave, and a shattered town attempts to recover from a senseless spectacle of violence. They have to live with it now, while the rest of America gets to continue scot-free. We're told, that no anti-hate crime legislation was passed as a result of Matthew's beating, neither at a federal level or state level. With this in mind, the liberal ideology that things will get better in time no longer holds much water. The message is clear: the Matthew Shepard murder focused worldwide attention on hate, but why has so little been done to curb the violence? (*Shakes his head*) Only in America...9/10

I thought this movie was great. I give it 10 out of 10 stars. I loved everything about it, actors, acting, script, transcripts, production, photography and directing. The only people I hate are the ones who made nasty comments about Matthew, and talked a bunch of bullshit about him saying that he deserved it and was asking for it. That is all totally wrong. I especially hate that Fred Phelps, and his little group of people. I also hate most of all the two perpetrators, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. None of the negative talk about Matthew, was true at all. I think that both the perpetrators should have been given the death penalty. They may have life in prison without the possibility of parole, but that still was not enough at all. Remember the Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others As You'ed Have Done To You. Kudos to the cast, crew, and filmmakers! Two Thumbs Way Up!