Openly gay Matthew Shepard died tragically and became the poster boy for homophobia and hate crimes, creating memorials nation wide both in gay meccas and even in select horrified straight communities. Like seaman Alan Schindler nearly a decade before, Matthew brought the horrors of homophobia to life, and this TV drama shows the pain of parents Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston as they deal with the trial of the accused, the shameful public reaction and the impact on their marriage as they struggle with their guilt. Flashbacks of Matthew (Shane Meier) coming to terms with who he is, unable to deal with a kiss from a female classmate after a dance and how his first boyfriend couldn't deal with Matthew's openness which lead to him first being gay bashed.
This certainly could have been better, as structurally it is out of sequence and starts rather abruptly after the prologue showing the attack on that fateful night, not giving the viewer the opportunity to feel the parent's agony, with the parents just holding in all of their emotions at his funeral. But it could have been done in a more exploitive manner, and fortunately the script avoids that. Both Channing and Waterston are very good, but I never felt that I was seeing the characters, not the actors. It's obvious that they decided to play it safe, and while it is a good film, I didn't feel the full power of a very important story that could have been a profound film. Meier makes Matthew flesh and blood and realistic, but found Damien Atkins obnoxious as someone he meets at college, cloying and cliched and not remotely likeable. The party scene at the Shephard's home is another out of place moment that should have been underplayed, or possibly eliminated.
This certainly could have been better, as structurally it is out of sequence and starts rather abruptly after the prologue showing the attack on that fateful night, not giving the viewer the opportunity to feel the parent's agony, with the parents just holding in all of their emotions at his funeral. But it could have been done in a more exploitive manner, and fortunately the script avoids that. Both Channing and Waterston are very good, but I never felt that I was seeing the characters, not the actors. It's obvious that they decided to play it safe, and while it is a good film, I didn't feel the full power of a very important story that could have been a profound film. Meier makes Matthew flesh and blood and realistic, but found Damien Atkins obnoxious as someone he meets at college, cloying and cliched and not remotely likeable. The party scene at the Shephard's home is another out of place moment that should have been underplayed, or possibly eliminated.