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15 reviews in total

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20 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
What an eye opener!, 22 May 2003
Author: Chris Bush from London, United Kingdom

We are set in the year 1969 where Homosexuality is illegal and dressing in drag is likely to get you arrested, if not beaten!

Everybody has their own Stonewall story... Everyone that lived through it will have a fantastic memory to tell anybody that will listen. Well this film is La Miranda's story. La Miranda is a fictional drag queen and this film is all about how her and her friends got through the Stonewall days.

I learned a lot from this film. I never realised how tough it was for gay people living in America at that time. I never once thought about what those people did to make life so much easier for us now. As a gay man myself, I felt touched by this film and the reality of what really did happen back then.

Stonewall is a brutal film that delivers a very strong message in a very straight forward, no crap, right to the point kind of way. The characters in the film are all adorable in their own way and you can really feel what they are feeling.

You will find yourself staring at the screen in amazement at how strong these people really are. Every person in this film gives an outstanding performance... I can not fault any of the actors. There are no big names in this film either and that is what makes it even more special.

No big star actors being in this movie means that you can get really close to the characters and you can relate to them, rather than picture them in another role and another movie. It is also a very private movie, it wasn't a huge box office smash hit like Titanic or Star Wars. It's the kind of movie that nobody has really heard of but is always hooked on it once they finally see it.

Anybody that knows about Stonewall will know that the people that lived through that riot were fighting for people like myself, my boyfriend and all gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, drag queens and everyone alike. They sacraficed everything they could to pave the way for us to live with the freedom we deserve. They deserve to be respected in every way possible and this film does just that. It portrays them for what they really are.... HEROS!

I really loved this film and I seriously recommend everybody sees it... you will learn something and you will be moved!

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19 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
The spirit is right; the details are wrong, 26 September 1998

Author: Harry Matthews from Brooklyn, NY

I have a great deal of admiration for this engaging effort to explain the roots of the modern gay rights movement, produced on a shoe-string by a director with an admirable sense of style, pacing, and resourcefulness. Though filtered through a distinctly British class-consciousness, it does a highly respectable job of catching the main trends in gay America from my not-quite-misspent youth.

Furthermore, it is candidly presented as a subjective, fictional account, mooting complaints like "the bus is too old," "no New York apartment is that big" and "the Stonewall bar never looked that clean."

Nonetheless, one small detail and one large item are egregiously wrong. The detail is the rather elementary fact that the Stonewall was never licensed; it was a "private" mob-run club. It was raided not because all cops are homophobes but because, in the absence of official licensing, gay bars were, in every sense, illegal. The scenes where Stonewall employees display great care about the liquor laws are ridiculous, since the bar operated outside the law.

The larger item is the failure to capture the sense of exhilaration that swept throught the country in 1969. This was the year men walked on the moon, the year of Woodstock, the year an X-rated gay-themed film ("Midnight Cowboy") won the "Best Picture" Oscar, and (biggest miracle of all to us New Yorkers) the year the Mets, long "lovable losers," won the World Series. Anything was possible, and gay people joined the party with enthusiasm.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
As American as apple pie, 17 July 2004

Author: Boyo-2

Frederick Weller is the perfect embodiment of the frustrated gay male who is ready for a change, and a revolution to boot. He arrives in NYC, somewhat naive, and is befriended by a drag queen who introduces him to the city and its many characters. He is discouraged almost immediately but it starts a feeling in him that makes him uneasy about the way things are. At the time bars were getting raided constantly and there were other ridiculous laws, too, none of which sit well with him. He befriends another man who enlightens him about rallies, a peaceful march to Philadelphia, and takes him to Fire Island. But its all still bad, since he knows he's being treated badly because of who he is.

Climax of the movie is the riot at the end, which wasn't much of one as far as I'm concerned, but the police finally found they were being stood up to, and they didn't like it.

All the actors are excellent, especially Weller, who's inexplicably not a major star, and Guillermo Diaz as La Miranda, a not-as-tough-as-she-pretends-to-be drag queen. Its La Miranda's version of things, and when she says 'we're American as apple pie' as the last line of the movie, you can't help but believe her.

Kudos to all involved. 9/10.

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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Fantastic., 27 January 2000
Author: Devyalento Latchford Deschanel from London, England

Stonewall is probably one of the best movies of all time. Yes, it may only be a fictional account of what happened in 1969, but a story told by characters that seem so real and a heartbreaking and funny story to match, you have to watch. It it totally spell-binding.

The attitudes of the characters are easy to empathise with, and you can see bits of yourself in all of them. Whether it be Matty Dean's wide eyed curiosity, La Miranda's search for a 'hero' or Bostonia's acceptance of a life that could be better, you become encapsulated in the world of the film. It's almost as if you are striding through the village with La Miranda and her posse, and you WANT to be there as well.

The cast of Stonewall are excellent. Frederick Weller and Guillermo Diaz impress as Matty Dean and La Miranda, while Brendan Corbalis and Bruce MacVittie play second fiddle to them, and very well too. But Duane Boutte really shines as Bostonia, a character with so many levels to her, ranging from tough and humorous to tender and afraid to downright proud. The scene where she knocks out the policeman is classic.

Stonewall deserved awards by the bucket load. But the fact that it did not win much at all is, in a strange way, a good thing. The fact that not many people know about it make it all the more personal to you. It's YOUR film, YOUR method of escaping from you normal routine, YOUR chance to get well and truly lost in a wonderful film. I defy anyone not to love it, and the closing scenes, with the credits playing the haunting track "What A Good Boy", are magical. A truly brilliant film.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
"I Don't Do Tears" - La Miranda, 15 July 2005

Author: Blooeyz2001 from Florida

I love this movie! The mixture of fact & fiction works very well. The music of the girl group The Shangri-Las immersed into the storyline is also an asset. These characters are so appealing & they feel like friends, so you just can't wait to see what happens next. The acting of Guillermo Diaz as La Miranda is so natural & relaxed it makes him so likable. Sexy Fred Weller as Maddy Dean is adorable. His character's faults make him all the more appealing. I get choked up every time I see him sing & play the guitar, with the others on the bus coming back from their rally, not exactly defeated, but far from being winners either. Mizz Moxie & Helen Wheels add just the right touch of campy, comic relief. Duane Boutte as Bostonia is excellent & insightful. His interaction with his homophobic homosexual lover, the Italian/American Vinny & owner of The Stonewall Inn, is passionate & sparks fly between them when they are confronting each other concerning their relationship issues circa 1969. The only character I'm not too crazy about is Brandan Corbalis as Ethan. I found him pretentious & condescending. Aside from his nice butt in the shower (if in fact that was his butt) there's nothing appealing about him really. The riot scene is fast & somewhat clumsy, yet it's electrifying & very exciting to view. All gay people should watch this film & get a feel for what happened on that hot summer night in '69. It gives you a sense of your history & what others before you endured. (The premature death of icon Judy Garland adds a bittersweet footnote to the precedings).

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Events leading up to the Gay Uprising of 1969--told in connect-the-dots fashion, 4 July 2006

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

A young gay man from the sticks comes to New York City in 1969 hoping for a better life, but finds the homosexual lifestyle just as stifled in the big city under police pressure, corruption and harassment. The legendary gay riots near the Stonewall Inn take up just five minutes of the film's running-time, the final five minutes. This low-budget, brightly-colored film is more interested in the lives that would soon be affected by the riots than in the aftermath of the violence--and so we get stock characters like the naive blond cowboy, the underworld group controlling the club, the straight-seeming activists for a Homosexual Alliance, and lots and lots of drag queens. Director Nigel Finch seems to make a concerted effort to equate homosexuality with drag behavior, and drag behavior with (ultimately) prostitution. Perhaps this was true of the times, but Finch's presentation (though not campy) has cartoonish leanings and nostalgic overtures that don't express anything more than what most people already realize: the cops were corrupt, the gays were not saints, and they clashed. There's a good movie to be made about Stonewall, but this one just scratches the surface. There are some sweet moments (a sing-along on a bus, a dance between a drag queen and a gay conservative), but just as many scenes where the tone intended hasn't a hope in hell of coming through. ** from ****

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A film bursting with stories, colour and life., 7 June 2001
Author: Mattydee74 from Sydney, Australia

The night they raided the NYC underground bar Stonewall was the night gay pride exploded into the mainstream. This film tells the story of that night through a group of characters who each shine with their own unique story. There's La Miranda and Matty Dean, the central fictional figures of this film, and their struggle to find love, respect and honour in 1969 against numerous odds. But there are many other important stories told in this beautiful film. Dazzling, bright, strong and rousing are just four words but they settle easily into any sentence describing Stonewall - the movie. Its one of the most colourful and well designed films I've seen - so lush and grand in its set design and the musical numbers blaze. This delicious film is an aching, sweet transport into another time and place and provides a jaunty historical summation of the pride and intensity the name Stonewall still retains in the twentieth century history of the gay experience. Its a love story, a political tale, a drag odyssey and a wonderful expression of the powerful bonds that dark times promote and cement. Most of all, its a film to share with people you care about and want to grow through life with - so march to see it now.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Fictional but very inspired and moving...., 17 December 2006

Author: ccmiller1492 (ccmiller1492@yahoo.com) from Fairfax, VA

"Stonewall" is a fictional but very inspired and moving account of events leading up to and culminating in the famous gay riots in NYC. Don't be fooled by the packaging...this is in no way a fluffy work in the vein of "Can't Stop the Music." It is deeply moving, very nearly tragic as it depicts the complex stressful lives of several characters. Fred Weller is marvelous as the genuine and untried hick Matty Dean who can't accept the comforts of compromise when he knows most of his compatriots are unjustly suffering. Guillermo Diaz as the drag queen La Miranda, who resembles Connie Francis when made-up, is outstanding as Matty's insecure mentor and eventual mate. Hopefully, the rampant police brutality against LGBT persons will be alleviated after the events depicted. I have heard several horrifying stories from a few who were arrested and their subsequent brutal treatment in jails. This film is so well-acted and paced that it should be seen by anyone, gay or straight, who has any interest in basic human rights issues. It will certainly make you think, and doubtless leave a lasting impression and perhaps not a little enlightenment.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A Masterpiece, 25 November 2006

Author: barbwirenv from Nevada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Having been the the Village in the 1960's, I can vouch for the accuracy of this film and the depiction of the Village during that era, except for a sort of inaccurate image of the exterior of the Stonewall bar.

The characters are representations of real people (the head of the Mattachine Society, the leader of the Daughters of Bilitis, the mafioso and the queen coming out) that I knew in the movement back then.

Being gay or trans gender back then was very rough: the scenes of police brutality are frank and graphic, especially the cops' dunking La Miranda's head under water... The cops did a similar thing to me.

If you want to see how far the LGBT movement has progressed, see this film.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
a funny, inspiring film..., 7 January 2000

Author: orbiT

this is one of the great low-budget "queer cinema" triumphs of the 90s'....

contrary to the above commenter, i do think the details are right... and yes, the cops were homophobic.. they used arcane, outdated laws to close gay bars.. have u read the book "stonewall"? they make it very clear that lots of bars - gay and str8 - were "illegal".. only the gay ones were shut down..

i was very impressed by the right-on details in the production design..

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