The Matthew Shepard Story

A largely overlooked and seemingly unremarkable TV movie, The Matthew Shepard Story struck me as a mix of Soldier's Girl and Prayers for Bobby, though both films were made after it. While this film didn't get me as much as the two aforementioned dramas, it's still a very powerful story whose subject is unfortunately based on a true story that, like Soldier's Girl, highlights human limitations, narrow-mindedness and hatred of perfectly normal people who, like everyone else, want to find happiness and love. Right from the beginning, the killers are compared to wild animals through sound effects, and everyone knows very well what should be done with rabid animals that are a threat to others. At first, the various transitions between present day and flashbacks made me uncomfortable, but that faded with time and everything was as it should be. The cast was likable, I was most impressed with Stockard Channing of course (like Sigourney Weaver in Prayers for Bobby) and also the lead actor, Shane Meier. All in all, a really sad film that tries very well to reconstruct what preceded the heinous act and what followed, showing both hatred and love and coming to terms with the passing of a loved one (17.08.2013)