The Laramie Project (***1/2)
review by Jon Waterman

The film chronicles the events leading up to and following the death of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man living in the small city of Laramie, Wyoming. For those unfamiliar with Matthew, he was kidnapped at a local bar, beaten and tied to a fence in the middle of nowhere – presumably just because these two young kidnappers knew he was gay and Matthew allegedly tried to hit on them. His nearly unconscious body was found and rushed to the hospital. During that stay, the story became national news as a hate crime. Thousands rallied and gathered in Wyoming in support of Matthew and his family. Matthew died in the hospital and the two young men involved were tried in court. If you want to know what happens to them, you’ll just have to watch the movie or do some research on your own. I never give away everything.

The story comes together through more than 200 interviews conducted by New York City’s Moisés Kaufman (who also directed the film) and his fellow Tectonic Theatre members. Originally a stage play, this film rounds up many easily recognizable actors to portray the interviewers and interviewees as well as recreate the events of the time. These recreations are the only parts that keep this film from needing to be a documentary. I can understand that many of the townspeople wouldn’t want to be captured on camera attaching a face to their opinions, but there would probably be enough people agreeing to make a substantially effective doc. However, adding these flashback scenes would require the consistent participation of the interviewed, which could get tricky and hokey. The film relies on these flashback sequences to enhance the emotional impact of this crime and to further persuade the audience in their direction.

I had some problems with the technical nature in which it was shot. Split screens are used for seemingly no purpose. They essentially only show up near the beginning. My guess is that is shows that the interviewing process is rolling along and occurring several places at once. Quicker cutting between interviewers along with already appropriate music would accomplish the same thing. The time I thought the split screen/layering technique worked was when the various images of media coverage overloaded the frame. The other problem I had was that sometimes the editing makes it look like the Tectonic crew was in town while the whole incident occurred, which to the best of my knowledge is false.

Otherwise, the film works very well. The music (by Peter Golub) kept everything flowing nicely and divided the movie into different sections. The natural beauty of the city and the landscape shows up nicely here. Wonderful landscapes and colorful backdrops are used to contrast the darkened mood of the city that resulted from the murder. I also appreciated that the film was not shot like a documentary. Tripods were used. Match action abounds with multiple set-ups that come together to get the most of the subject matter. Also the acting is very natural and smooth. Actors like Christina Ricci, Laura Linney, Joshua Jackson, Steve Buscemi, Janeane Garofalo, Jeremy Davies, Peter Fonda and others all keep the spur of the moment, conversational feel without modifying any of the interviewees original words (as far as I know).

This film has so much substance that I can’t possibly talk about the whole thing here. I’m sure many essays have and will be written regarding this time in history and about this film. It’s an incredibly poignant social study that may hold true for quite a while. No matter what your stance is on the subject, you should check out this movie. It may not change your opinion one way or another, but it just might learn something about yourself and your fellow man.

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