The Brandon Teena Story (1998) User Reviews

Reply to "rot in hell" post

[tankgrrrl13 · 8/10 · 15 November 2008]

Just a note of clarification. Brandon, did not lie about his gender. Brandon lived his short troubled life trying to express his gender the way he saw it and wanted others to see it. What he did however cover up was the truth of his biological sex. I tend to agree that full disclosure of these facts to his sexual partners would have been just. However, people are often not understanding of issues of gender nonconformity. Nor, have many people been equipped with the language, self-understanding, support, safe-space, and confidence to speak about these things without fear of being met with fear, ignorance and hatred.

Our society has a strictly enforced binary gender system that is extraordinarily hard on those who do not conform. This is so entrenched in the sub-conscious of most everyone from such an early age that sometimes it seems that only those of us who do not fit in that system know that it is there and has been constructed by a society built on easy answers and small thinking that limits so many of us in numerous ways. It is so ingrained in people to believe that woman = feminine / man = masculine and all the stereotypes and behaviors that go with these two choices that they think these unwritten (and sometimes written) rules are natural. Therefore those who do not, nay, cannot play by these rules are unnatural, sick, sinful .. etc. So while I was disgusted by the behavior of the local authorities (including the civil court judge) I was not shocked. Serious deep changes need to be made to the way we as the human race see sex and gender or this type of appalling hatred will continue.

A conscious note

[caitlinc-1 · 8/10 · 25 January 2007]

I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that if we are going to talk about how people are closed- minded and how society's views must be altered to include transgendered individuals as people of value and importance in our culture, then we must first begin with the little things: If Brandon felt that he identified as a male then we should give him the respect he deserves as someone who served as a lesson for us all. This means referring to him as male. If Brandon saw himself as male then we should refer to him accordingly. I suggest that whoever designed this IMDb movie profile should re-evaluate the way this profile is set up and change the cast description to Brandon Teena...himself (not herself). This is the first step to achieving what I'm sure Brandon would have wanted: to have transgendered people be accepted as how they see themselves- not how someone else sees them.

Not a perfect documentary but tells a compelling story...

[chas77 · 8/10 · 19 March 2000]

I just watched this on video last night, after having seeing "Boys Don't Cry" in the theaters a few weeks ago. This is the perfect companion piece for that movie which, though fictionalized in some aspects, treats the story pretty well. Where "The Brandon Teena" story suffers is in its failure to completely document Teena's pre Fall City lifestyle. We know Teena left Lincoln, Nebraska but we aren't given a more clear picture of his/her life there. For instance, while the mother is interviewed, what about the father? Was there one? Why didn't the mother drive down to Falls City right after she was raped? Why didn't she send her away from that town to a safe shelter, especially when the two perps were given their freedom? Didn't anyone think that John and Tom would try to exact revenge? These questions are never answered. One gets the feeling that Teena, aside from having a "sexual identity crisis" as she puts it, was an incredibly tortured soul, one who couldn't see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes.

This film contains fascinating subject matter which isn't given as thorough attention as it deserves.

You're Missing The Whole Point

[shaystewart · 20 June 2009]

OK. I spent the last fifteen minutes reading the comments written about this film. Out of the twenty some I've read thus far, only about four users seemingly understood the film's content and message. Brandon Teena was male. Yes, he was born in a female body, but he was transgender, therefore ONLY male pronouns should be used in reference to him. He/his/boy/man/etc. HE WAS NOT A GIRL. The fact that all of the users who have commented have presumably seen the film, and especially those of you who claim the ignorance of others, but then continue to use wrong pronouns for Brandon disgusts me. Do your research, and have some more respect.

Disturbing documentary about trans-gender.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 16 June 2011]

A technical low budget documentary, but powerful account of the life and death of Brandon Teena, a troubled Lincoln, Nebraska woman dealing with gender identity. Always labeled as a tomboy and more comfortable dressing as a male. Trying to live her life as a man would be a fateful undoing. This documentary uses news footage and interviews with numerous friends and even the two men charged with Brandon's brutal attack and murder. Brandon dated several young women, who were sure they were dating a man. Although Brandon found some happiness with a girlfriend, it was make or break time concerning the gender issue around Christmas of 1993. When it was finally proved that Brandon Teena was really Teena Brandon, this poor soul was beaten and raped while staying in Falls City...then murdered with two other friends a week later in Humboldt, Nebraska. The original investigation on the rape was proved to be inappropriate as well as unprofessional giving time for the premeditated murder to take place. This story became the subject, with liberties, for the Oscar winning 1999 film BOYS DON'T CRY that also garnered Hilary Swank the Best Actress Award.

Add This To Your Video Collection

[AgentStarling3 · 10/10 · 27 September 2007]

This video holds nothing back, giving viewers actual footage of the town and neighborhoods where the victim and killers had once walked, drove and partied in. It also takes you up the country road to the talked about farmhouse where three people were murdered in the dead of winter night. There are actual crime scene photos of Teena Brandon and the inside of the broken-into farmhouse. I found those particularly disturbing, but I guess that is how to try capturing the essence of what it was like so viewers may learn from it. The video also includes interviews from friends and family of the killers and the victims. There are even interviews from inside the prisons from the killers themselves, trying to appear wrongly accused and failing miserably. The clueless sheriff is also seen praising their law enforcement, even after botching the rape and murder case in front of the world. This is not for children or the squeamish, and it really makes a strong impact.

Was more factual than Boys Don't Cry"

[jennbru83-1 · 7/10 · 15 August 2005]

I thought that although the movie was somewhat amateur, the vein of Brandon's story was tapped into. I really liked the fact that the filmmakers went out and found and interviewed people who actually knew Brandon and that we as the audience were able to learn more about him and his life. I also can appreciate that the movie at least gave mention to Phil DeVine and Lisa Lambert. "Boys Don't Cry" never even mentioned Phil and that movie also made it seem like Lana Tisdel was the one and only true love in Brandon's life. This movie minimizes her role in Brandon't life and eventual death. At least this film didn't just use the really "interresting" aspects of his life, but it used the real aspects of Brandon's life. There was one main thing that did bother me in this movie though. The use of long, drawn out music that seemed to have very little to do with the film itself. I think that if that had been cut back a bit, I personally would have enjoyed the movie far more. This was definitely worth watching if you are curious about the life and death of Brandon Teena.

Reversing Her Name And Gender

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 13 November 2009]

Although we do get to hear the voice of Brandon Teena because of her taped interview with the police, The Brandon Teena Story is essentially the plot of Boys Don't Cry without the central protagonist. Hilary Swank filled the void that Brandon's absence created with her Academy Award winning performance. What we have here is a documentary of the events leading up to his murder and what happened to his killers.

When dealing with a transgender individual to properly tell the story we have to go back to the cradle to those very first questioning that something is not right with the body I'm in. So it was with Tina Brandon born in Nebraska and raised in a time where she would have had limited access to literature about being transgender. She also was raised in a redneck culture and her male role models were the redneck boys she grew up with. This was to her what it meant to be a man.

Before he was murdered at the end of 1993, Tina Brandon reversed her name and started living as Brandon Teena in a nearby town where no one knew him from a previous identity as a woman. As a man Brandon did pretty good with the woman by the accounts in the film and that aroused suspicion that eventually led to tragedy.

There were two crimes involving Brandon Teena. The first was a brutal rape when her physical privacy was violated on Christmas Eve and then her murder along with two other people to silence them as witnesses after Brandon Teena brought the complaint of rape on New Year's Eve.

Two things I guarantee you will disturb you for all time to come. The first was the total lack of remorse by Brandon's killers, John Lotter and Tom Nissen. They still truly believe that in their heart of hearts they were somehow defending the barriers of male sexuality from unwanted invasion. Secondly it's the total lack of compassion and understanding of transgender issues by the sheriff's department when you hear the sheriff questioning Brandon about the rape. Both these things sad to say aren't a new story for me. I worked 23 years for NYS Crime Victims Board and even today the approach some police take regarding gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender crime victims is appalling. It's far worse where I live now in Buffalo than in New York City where I'm originally from. That it's not a new a revelatory story for me is another frightening thing.

To get the facts as Joe Friday used to say on Dragnet, I suggest you watch the Brandon Teena Story documentary. To flesh out who was Brandon Teena than don't miss Hilary Swank's performance in Boys Don't Cry.

This review is dedicated to all the Transgender support groups out there in the world, especially to the Buffalo Belles and Spectrum in my area. They provide an incalculable service to those transgender folks at various stages of their journey. Due to the insurance regulations most will die in the bodies they feel wrongly trapped in. Hopefully that will change and the Brandon Teenas don't have to stay Tina Brandon if that's not who they were meant to be.

Gender, Murder and small town America

[Sasha-13 · 6/10 · 4 February 1999]

This film is about a triple homicide. One of the victims and the main target of the "execution" was a young woman who felt she had been born the wrong sex. He called himself Brandon.

While the cinematography isn't great, this film does justice to a disturbing subject, the bigotry and hate that thrives in too many small towns. But this isn't just any small town and the people Brandon associated with weren't the type of educated individuals who would be likely to understand and accept someone like Brandon.

This movie immerses you in a world of truly scary people. Hate, and ignorance abound. You don't have to be gay or transgendered to feel unsafe with the folks in this film; being middle class will do it. This touches on another even more disturbing subject. Why do some gay and transgendered people take chances with all the wrong people? Strangers aren't a real safe bet for anyone, especially someone who is different in some way. The people in this film aren't the understanding college educated types. For the most part they are people from the very bottom of America's social strata. When you look at Brandon, you have to wonder why he chose to befriend the people who killed him in the first place. The two men were acknowledged low-lifes and ex-cons. He could not have put himself more in harms way if he had tried. Brandon, in spite of his problems with petty crime, was apparently a very sweet, though simple person who seemed unable to accept that his inner male being was not reality. The film portrays him as a romantic who stole through forgery in order to buy flowers and gifts for the people he loved. Even in the sound clips we hear of his voice, he was extremely passive. He was calm even as he discussed the rape that preceded his murder. Why didn't this gentle person see the danger? Why didn't he assume it? Perhaps Gay and transgendered people don't have to be totally paranoid to survive, but certainly they need to be at least as careful as the average African American would be when confronted with a car full of red necks.

unbelievability toward the ignorance of the average American

[jamie-26 · 10/10 · 3 October 1998]

_The Brandon Teena Story_ is a shocker. I, a travelled New Yorker, sat in the theater slack-jawed at how narrow minded and ignorant people of my own country (and therefore of my own "culture," presumably) could be. The true story, which takes place in Nebraska, USA, is of a person, born a girl, who lives her life as a boy. People, even girlfriends, believe in her sexuality; however, she is eventually exposed, raped, and then murdered (along with 2 other people who happened to be with her that night). The documentary focuses on her friends and girlfriends, as well as her killers and the people who knew her in Nebraska. There is a general sense of disapproval and confusion, as well as love and acceptance from those who knew her well.

Maybe it's my more globally-minded perception, but I simply cannot imagine committing a hate-crime towards a person who is different, a person I simply don't understand. I cannot fathom denying that person's right to live as a human being. I immediately judge those people in that part of the country as ignorant and bigoted. But I do this without giving them a chance, just like they didn't give Brandon one. Is it right to impose my values onto them, just as they did theirs to Brandon? It may not be "right" but I choose to do it anyhow, just as they chose to judge Brandon. Or ... is it the same? What the movie does is challenge the morals and values of the world outside the society in which Brandon lived. I believe that if I had seen the movie in Fall City Nebraska, I would not have heard the gasps in the audience throughout the film. I would have been appalled, but the rest of the audience would have identified with the people on the screen. Do I have to live with that "ignorance" in my own country? To them, I may seem like the "ignorant" one, the "liberal without VALUES." I, of course, see it in the opposite light. But this will not soon be reconciled. The closest thing we can get to is understanding, and we reach understanding through exposure, through sources such as _The Brandon Teena Story_.

Intresting

[taedirish · 6/10 · 1 December 2020]

From a film making perspective, the production of this film was awful. Way too many "musical" interludes, that went on far too long. The story line seemed all over the place, or at least not laid out in its most intelligible format. Also, was the film being bankrolled by Marlboro? Seemed like they could have found some usable footage without the subjects smoking. As for the subject of the film, it's a tragic story of a transgender person who was murdered after it was discovered that they had been posing as a male, when they were biologically female. It's strange looking back in this now and I'm sure anyone watching this in the 21st century is appalled. Without making any excuse for the taking of someone's life, or condoning the behavior, I do recall this was a time when transgender people were not accepted as part of the social normality. I say this in an attempt to understand (not excuse) how this could happen. The film ended abruptly, with another awful musical interlude. In all honesty, you'd probably get more understanding of the people involved by watching Boys Don't Cry.

Rot in Hell!!!!!!!

[carlynorth · 10/10 · 29 July 2006]

I live in the UK and last night (Friday 28th July 2006) I turned over my TV to find a film called 'Boys don't cry' on, an hour and a half later and I had cried 3 times and felt sick, disturbed and so overwhelmed by emotions that I couldn't separate one from the other. I felt as if I wished I had been there to shelter Brandon/Teena from her tortured end. I read some other comments posted and one suggested that the violence towards Brandon was not that of a hate crime because of her sexuality, to be frank, thats total bullshit!! Those two sick, deluded individuals who call themselves men (!) bullied a person who, OK didn't have the cleanest of backgrounds and had lied about her gender, but I don't think that he should have broad casted it to the entire town, he wanted to live he's life as a man, and be treated as a man. Admittedly he should not have deceived girls once they were a couple but does that really justify murder?? The one person who had a right to be annoyed was Lana but the sorry excuses of men that brutally raped him, both anally and vaginally deserve to be tortured and tested on instead of animals, Brandon had done nothing wrong that justified a murder and after seeking help from the police-people who he trusted, they chose to do nothing and let tom and john wander free to seek revenge. You do ask yourself why Brandon chose to stay around for as long as he did, or why he didn't flee back to Lincoln after the rape, or why he's mother didn't go to he's rescue?? I'm a mum and would walk over hot coal to get to my son. The police are responsible for Brandon's death, they allowed those sick bastrds to carry out a cold hearted murder to save themselves being convicted of rape. They were proud of what they did and should rot in hell. They abused and tortured another human being for not being able to understand, they are ignorant bastards who i hope never walk free again, They tool away someone's daughter, sister niece, friend and lover and they have to live with that every day for the rest of their lives.

To Brandon's family, I wish to give my deepest sympathy, my thoughts are with you. The authorities, and us as a society need to ensure this will never happen to another human being again, the sad truth is, it probably already is.

Well-done documentary about a women/girl who posed as a man/boy...

[dwpollar · 7/10 · 21 March 2001]

1st watched 1/7/2001 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Susan Muska & Greta Olafsdottir): Well-done documentary about a women/girl who posed as a man/boy convincingly and then was later raped and killed by those who had a problem with her doing this. This is the type of movie that makes you question your beliefs and whose side your on or whether you should even be on any side. The complexity starts with the fact that Brandon is really Teena but she was born with both sex organs and was a confused kid, then our prejudicial part of the society shows through any many areas. Other than some bad choices of background music a good documentary.

Self-expression at a price...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 9 July 2006]

Low-budget but fairly comprehensive documentary on tortured Nebraskan youth Teena Brandon, who in 1993 nearly fooled a group of rebellious, alienated kids she'd befriended into believing she was a young male named Brandon Teena. When her secret was exposed, two men, angry and freaked-out, raped and murdered her. Offers a more clear-eyed take on the murder scene (which included two other victims) than the Oscar-winning theatrical film "Boys Don't Cry". However, solely on an entertainment basis, "Boys Don't Cry" obviously packs more of an emotional punch. In either case, this is an exceptionally downbeat story which can be difficult to watch, and the folks who knew Teena Brandon seem spookily detached from the ramifications of the entire incident. ** from ****

Disgusted with the rednecks; terrified of the cops

[jennybock · 1 September 2015]

The most disturbing element of this story for me is the horrifyingly inappropriate, and unprofessional way the so-called "law enforcement officials" dealt with it.

The fact that ignorant, uneducated, mentally and genetically impaired American citizens like Brandon's rapists exist is an unfortunate reality that I've nevertheless learned to expect. However, I will never get used to witnessing those same behaviors in people we elect, pay and trust to keep us safe.

I can only hope that we are still at the earliest stages of evolving as humans.

Some people just don't understand.

[yougoboywi · 10/10 · 2 March 2000]

For someone who isn't familiar with this story or someone who has no interest in the gay/lesbian lifestyle..don't even try because you will end up with a wrong attitude. This is an excellent portrayal of a REAL life story. It is so sad that this can happen. Brandon Teena was hurting no one, yet these two men thought she deserved to die. It is amazing to me how all these women got all aghast when they realised he was really a woman and then felt the need to justify their relationship. There is nothing wrong with loving..whether that love is mainstream or not. If it makes you happy...go for it.

i loved and hated this movie

[tyler_smith1826 · 10/10 · 4 July 2005]

i am somewhat like Brandon. i know a little how he felt. and it wasn't right that he left this world the way he did, left it without having a family of his own, having someone to be there with him for the rest of his life, or living as long as he should have.

but this i will say tom and john, you two are the most horrible people, taking a innocent life for what, living the way that made him feel good, that gave him happiness, i think you killed him because you were jealous,jealous that he was happy and was in love.

and to those who loved Brandon, and were close to him i am sorry, and i think that because Brandon was taken from us, it gave us more, it gave each of us a little piece of him to carry on through our lives, to keep him living through us. to keep him as not a past memory, but a moving remembrance of a brave young man a fighter, and a man we will all remember. BRANDON TEENA(TEENA BRANDON)(1972-1993)

WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU!!!

Excellent

[laura_sharpy · 10/10 · 30 November 2001]

The Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon story is excellent! It gets you right there! Its moving and tragic, it has a shock impact on you. It is a tragic love story, and when i saw it, it made me angry and so sad. I thought i was watching a film made along time ago,but when i found it it happened in 1993, i just couldnt believe it! i couldn't believe that that poor child was treated in such a disgusting way - just because she didnt conform to modern society, its really like watching something from the stone age!

A really bad documentary

[Gregory_Wu · 1/10 · 17 July 2000]

This was the worst documentary I've ever seen. If I hadn't seen "Boys Don't Cry" I would have absolutely no idea what Brandon Teena's story even was. There was absolutely no storytelling whatsoever. The viewer was given no understanding of Brandon's background, how people felt about him, what actually happened in his life, how these people entered his life, why these people killed him, how his mother felt about him, etc. This was just a really bad documentary with bad editing.

Rats rat on Rats

[futures-1 · 5 June 2006]

"The Brandon Teena Story" (1998): This is the documentary which inspired the film "Boys Don't Cry", about the young woman who cross-dressed as a man, and was eventually beaten, raped, and later shot to death. No, it's not a comedy. Nor will you want to live in a small town, the Midwest, on a farm, or near country-western music… but then you'll come to your senses and realize that this sort of horror can, and does, happen anywhere. Was Brandon a good kid? Not really. She was a check forging thief. Were her friends any better? It's hard to decide by the documentary, but I almost MUST believe SOMEONE was level headed and decent. Were the police effective and professional? I doubt you'll want to rely on them when you're traveling through Nebraska. Was the criminal justice system fair? Well, how do you feel about plea bargains, and rats who rat on other rats? Are there ANY people in this sad story you want to go line dancing with? I'll leave that to you. (It would be a good idea to rent "Boys Don't Cry" and watch it after "The Brandon Teena Story". Hillary Swank stars, and has "Brandon" nailed. It's a top notch film.

Fascinating story, terrible filmmaking

[dogbowl · 3/10 · 9 January 1999]

The story of Brandon Teena is fascinating, true, but was terrible filmmaking. I saw this at the Seattle Internation Film Festival, and the filmmakers were there to introduce it themselves. The audience loved it, but purely just for the subject matter. The truth is that this film was put together poorly. The quality of the whole production was lousy, and nothing new or interesting was revealed. It was a second rate true crime documentary that even the subject matter couldn't overcome. It is too bad that the only interesting character in the film appears only in photographs.

I've seen the movie

[toocute34 · 22 June 2002]

I thought the movie was great. I wished that I could have met Brandon. I felt sorry for him and what he went through. THEM (so called men) took a life and for what?? Because of how someone lived his life. BRANDON didn't hurt anyone not by a long shot. He was a kid hanging out and having fun with his friends.

People are always talking about peace and love. To me people don't care about anything, they care about themselves and they don't care who they hurt. But my question to them is.... WHY? What do you get out of it? We all live in the same world. We are all going to die sooner or later. Why cut there life short. And over something that never concerned them in the first place. Brandon's life was taken from him because of someone's stupidity. I don't feel sorry for Tom nor John. I feel sorry for Brandon's mother and family. Because they lost someone they loved for no reason.

n/a

[Patrick_Waggett · 5/10 · 7 January 2007]

The documentary about Brandon Teena retells a horrific story about a murder of a peculiar young girl who believed she was born the wrong sex. Adopting the name Brandon, we learn that he went through life at his small town befriending many people and even finding partners in relationships successfully and happily. Recounting the details after the death of Brandon, there is some interesting on screen titles to give information about certain dates, court hearings and accounts from Brandon however this can only hold the audience for so long and doesn't really make up for the cheap, distractingly poor cinematography. In one scene there is a camera device where there is a dutch tilt from a travelling car looking at houses and the sky above that has no relevance to the narrative whatsoever. The talking heads also, become boring in their blandness and the content of each interview slowly gets tiresome in it's repetitiveness concerning how people perceived Brandon from friends and family. Saying this, the first act of the film is highly polluted with people's accounts of who Brandon was, how he treated those around him and an eventually pieced puzzle about how he befriended the two who eventually killed him after all the same old content and narrative that the audience are subject to for a lengthy period of time. However, the interviews do give Brandon substance and makes him a very likable person giving him much sympathy to his tragic end. We learn that he had stole just to buy gifts for his loved ones and how he brought happiness to people in a town full of not too appealing people in a prejudice America. Once we find out exactly what happened in the tragic last Christmas/New Year period in Brandon's life, there are disturbing accounts of what happened and what Brandon was subject to by his so called 'Friends'. The most disturbing piece of film shows still information and audio over the image from the actually interview Brandon was in with a Police Officer concerning his bullying. It is almost laughable how moronic and insensitive the Officer is in his investigation forcefully questioning his sexual abuse to detail and unbelievably asking for a repeat of the statement in very unprofessional terms. I was disappointed that the film was so long, it became hard to concentrate on in the final act. New people were introduced in what seemed random talking heads and the Directors/Writers Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir seemed to lose their way in the narrative by concentrating on the two men who murdered Brandon and their court case. It seemed like a whole different film and purpose in studying their prosecution and the pace suggested that possibly they could have (and in my opinion, should have) in fact made another documentary into their story and the possibility of looking at their motives and Southern Americas discriminatory motives today.

Flawed But Interesting Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 5 January 2014]

The Brandon Teena Story (1998)

*** (out of 4)

Good documentary taking a look at the female Teena Brandon who believed she was a man so she dressed that way, dated women who thought she was a man and eventually was brutally murdered with two other people. You're probably more familiar with the film BOYS DON'T CRY, which told this story but this documentary, while incredibly flawed, also offers a look at the real people involved in the crimes. I was pretty shocked to see how many of the real people attached to the story were willing to talk and this includes the two men who raped Teena and eventually murdered here. We also hear from everyone's relatives as well as several females who dated Teena, under the name of Brandon of course. As I said in my review for BOYS DON'T CRY, I don't agree with what Teena did. As a straight man I wouldn't want to be dating a female who was keeping it from me that she was an actual man. I understand the outrage that would be gleamed towards Teena but at the same time you can't condone what happened to her with the rapes and eventual murder. Watching this documentary just made me realize that those people we laugh at on Jerry Springer are really in this world and the "white trash" on display in this movie makes you understand why Teena could be raped and nothing be done about it until after she was dead. It's pretty shocking to hear some of the questions that was asked of her during the rape investigation and it's even more shocking to hear that many people probably felt it was okay what happened to her. THE BRANDON TEENA STORY has some major flaws including some really stupid attempts at emotions by using songs throughout the picture. Still, it's pretty fascinating getting to hear from all the actual people and this here is reason enough to see the film.

Why wasn't this a book? There isn't much of a movie here, but it's an interesting story

[TheMrLee · 1/10 · 9 March 1999]

This could have been, should have been a very good film, but the filmmakers decided to focus on not on Teena Brandon/Brandon Tenna--a woman who passed herself off as a man, even to some of his girlfriends--but instead the rape and murder which occured in his last week of life. While the rape and murder were horrible, the filmmakers never got into the killer's heads enough to make that aspect of the story interesting or informative (film message: some people are bigots and do horrible things). The fascinating questions, such as how could a woman be sexually involved with another woman and not know it, were touched on, but not nearly enough.

I wish the filmmakers had looked into the relationship aspect of this story more. How have Brandon's ex-girlfriend's been affected by knowing that they were involved with a woman? Why did Brandon hang out with the people who killed him?

But then again, the film seemed decidedly amatuerish in most aspects, with little insight in how to use the camera to tell the story. I can't figure out what about the material demanded a film. A book would have allowed a deeper exploration of the interesting material without sacrificing any of the (nonexistant) visual appeal.