Soldier's Girl
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Movie Reviews of Soldier's Girl
Movie Review: I Wish All Drama Was This Good
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't buy DVDs simply because I watch a movie once and that's it--no need to own it. I have a few music videos, but I own only one other dramatical DVD so far. This is so worth owning, and watching repeatedly.I became interested in seeing this because I saw one or two clips when the Golden Globes were on back in January. Troy Garity was nominated for his performance as Barry Winchell, and I liked what I saw, so I thought I'd look into it.
My curiosity was piqued when I saw that this film was directed by none other than Frank Pierson, who wrote the screenplay for Dog Day Afternoon, which is one of my favorite films. Of course, the transgender theme is shared by these two films. I wonder if anyone else could have directed this with such sensitivity, and gotten such stupendous performances out of the cast.
I rented this from the library, and about 1/2-hour into watching it, I knew I would be buying myself a copy. Both Lee Pace and Troy Garity do such a superb job on this that even if everything else about this production stunk (which it doesn't), it would still make watching it worthwhile. I find the scene where Barry (Troy Garity) walks up and down beside the catwalk as Calpurnia (Lee Pace) performs "The Consequences of Falling" to be one of the most sensual scenes ever, and they're out in the middle of a club! Shawn Hatosy is also wonderful in his role.
I thought the script was well-written. I loved the line where Calpurnia's friend said to her that she didn't think that anyone was 100% anything--I didn't think of Barry as gay, but as a man who fell in love with a woman trapped inside a man's body. This made me think about how quick we are to label one another--some have been eager to label Barry as gay, but really, does it matter? Had Calpurnia remained a man, they probably would have never met, but they did, and they fell for one another in spite of themselves. You don't need to be gay or transgendered to be touched by fate, or to be touched by this film.
The choice of music was faultless. I had never been a k.d. lang fan, but after hearing a couple of her songs here I immediately went out and got a couple of her CDs, and they are great. The other songs by artists used in the film (Annie Lennox's "Cold," for example) are just as appropriate.
I was stunned to see how Lee Pace looked so feminine without actually going through the transgender process himself, and you can see how this occurs as an extra on the DVD. There are also interviews that make the DVD the obvious choice over VHS if you're even mildly interested in learning more.
I really look forward to more work from Lee Pace, Troy Garity, and Frank Pierson. I've since gone back to see what Frank Pierson has directed and what Troy Garity has appeared in to catch up on what I have missed. Lee Pace is new to film, but I hope he's around for a long, long time.
I commend everyone connected with this production, including the real-life Calpurnia for allowing her story to be told. I hope that she has found happiness (and hopefully love) in her new life. Good for HBO to televise it--I don't watch TV anymore because it insults my intelligence--I didn't think anything this good could come over the [TV]. Nice to know something worthwhile still falls through the cracks every once in a while.
Movie Review: Left Me Wanting More, but that's a good thing
Summary: 5 Stars
The axiom in show business that goes something like "leave them wanting more" is how I felt about this movie. I do not mean that the story fell short of my expectations; as a matter of fact I had no knowledge of the murder of Barry Winchell. I also had no knowledge of the actor, Lee Pace and of his gender. While totally engrossed in the film I took it for granted that Lee was a woman. Even my sister, who watched the movie with me, thought so. However, this is not the high point of the story. It is just one of its strength. What I wanted more of was the motivating factor of the main characters.
From beginning to end Barry's feelings are hidden from the audience. In spite of his initial attraction to a transgender performer, he put off by the idea of a homosexual encounter. Later he gives in to his feelings, the reasons which are never revealed. Does he want to be with Calpernia because of her physical attractiveness, or does he fall in love with her personality? Does he perceive Calpernia as a woman or a gay lover? At one point he does seem to display a non-aversion to homosexuality when he performs oral sex on her. Is Barry side of the story about a lonely solider or of a homosexual coming out?
Another character who seem vague to me was the solider Fisher. His contempt for homosexuality is countered by his brief flirtations with one of them. To be exact, we see him making out with one of the other performers. I was not sure why he wanted Barry killed. Was it because a line had been crossed? Or was it because he saw someone else do what he considered doing and it scared him? The idea of homosexual panic has always been a mystery to me. Even though I am a straight man, I have never understood this hatred and panic that so many heterosexual men experience. I was hoping that Fisher would have given me insight.
Yet, I can say that I enjoyed this movie on many levels. I have been attracted to women that my friends considered unworthy. I failed to follow up on several relationships for fear of ridicule. In that area I was sympathetic towards Barry and proud of his ability to overcome that fear. Calpernia displayed courage that I have seen in only a few individuals. I found myself attracted to her soul--Lee also has great legs!
After pondering this story, it hit me. A story should not spoon feed the plot and the motivation of the characters to the audience, great films promote thought and debate. And this is a great film, one that should have been released to the theatres. Regardless of your feelings toward homosexuality and transgender identity, you will be emotionally affected by the tragedy as well as the magnificent performances within.
Movie Review: A Film That Grows Stronger in Impact with Age
Summary: 5 Stars
SOLDIER'S GIRL was released in 2003, a landmark, brave film that stirred a lot of controversy as well as a lot of plaudits for the superb work of cinema that it was. The story was written by Ron Nyswander ('Philadelphia', 'The Painted Veil', 'Mrs. Soffel' etc) and the director was Frank Pierson, also aligned with many important films as both writer and director ('Dog Day Afternoon', 'Cool Hand Luke', 'A Star is Born', 'Truman', 'Citizen Cohn', 'Presumed Innocent', etc). Obviously made on a low budget, the corners were cut where they should have been, not on the quality of the cast or the impact of the story. It was and remains a brilliant film.
Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) is a sensitive, quiet soldier who is manacled by a homophobic roommate Justin Fisher (Shawn Hatosy). Justin takes Barry to a nightclub where the performers are 'guys in drag' as a challenge to understand Barry's somewhat subdued nature. There Barry observes performer Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace) and despite the negative atmosphere Justin has created, Barry connects with Calpernia. Calpernia is working to get the money to have her final transgender
surgery: the reason she works in the club is to make enough to pay the bills and save for her surgery. Barry and Calpernia become a couple despite all the cautions they fully see. Barry's fellow soldier's do not understand how Barry can be attached to a 'freak' and despite Barry's love for Calpernia and Calpernia's protective outlook for Barry, the relationship is tested daily. Barry is ostracized by his soldier 'friends' and in a brutally honest scene, Barry is beaten to death by Fisher. How Calpernia endures and the fate of the perpetrators is decided leads to the ending of the film.
In performances as real and powerful as those of Lee Pace and Troy Garity and yes, even Shawn Hatosy, the spectrum of the many permutations of the film are brilliantly delivered. All are excellent, but the extraordinary work by Lee Pace (who has since become a very important actor in many films) deserves as many awards as possible. The story is tough but exceptionally important, especially the manner in which it reveals the psychosocial and physical makeup of transgender people. The film is at once a stunning love story as well as an exposé of man's inhumanity to man and the rigid impact of the military still bound by ancient and crude rules of behavior. This is a film to see repeatedly for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has become a banner film for transgender citizens. It is based on a true story, a fact that makes it all the more painful to see. Grady Harp, April 11
Movie Review: Fitting and respectful
Summary: 5 Stars
The truth behind this film is shocking in the extreme, and the heart hurts terribly for Calpernia and Barry's family. Anger and despair are two words that spring to mind.The message, seemed to me to be about homophobia. I know a lot of trans people will cry "transphobia", but we suffer violence because some in society see us as sexual beings, nothing more, so the focus of the film there I feel was an important one to make.
As a transgendered woman myself, I bought the movie with the wrong focus, the wrong intent. I was expecting a movie with Calpernia as the central character. I'm glad that the producers centered the movie around Barry (played with sensitivity by Troy Garity), it is a fitting tribute to a decent human being. And it's quite nice to not have it sensationalised as well, just played as what it is, a tragic romance.
Sorry, but Lee just couldn't muster the voice at all. He sounded like a man trying to sound like a woman. A little vocal preparation would have helped there. That being said, he did put in a pretty good performance all in all. It can't be easy being a bloke and playing a part like that, so hats off for his courage to try and make it work.
Like Calpernia I was in the navy (12 years, though I began transition whilst still in the service) and what Barry went through I have seen and experienced. Don't ask don't tell simply does not work, even if you're not gay, but if, like Barry, you fall in love with someone considered "wrong." A complete re-education policy needs to be set in place, and the reason is aptly set out in this film, graphically and simply. The psychological goading of the young recruit was exceptionally well produced I thought, considering the time constraints within the movie itself and brought back some terrible memories.
Watching and hearing Barry's Mother in the special features was, I have to say, the most harrowing part of the viewing experience. Somebody with a huge amount of courage and sensitivity, a true and complete sense of humanity, She brought tears to my eyes.
Overall, I'm glad I bought it, even though I had to buy it from the US direct, and it will be watched several times more in the next few months, with friends.
Movie Review: A politically charged story told as a romance (one of the best romances out there these days)
Summary: 5 Stars
Soldier's Girl, based on a true story, is one of the most compelling love stories ever portrayed on the big screen. It is the story of an Army infantry soldier who falls for a transgendered performer at a drag club. Barry Winchell is forced near Calpernia by circumstance, and is surprised by his own interest in and desire for her.
The unlikely romance is beset by tensions originating from Winchell's obsessive-compulsive, Ritalin-addicted barracks roommate. The roommate, Justin Fisher, is the one who dared Winchell to talk to Calpernia in the first place. He's a lonely, conflicted redneck who is searching for friends while alienating nearly everyone around him. Soldier's Girl is as much the story of Winchell and Calpernia as it is that of Fisher's explosive temper and confusion about the world.
Winchell is a simple, courteous man who wants to succeed in the Army, keep the peace, and protect is right to a private life. He's Fisher's only true friend, even as Fisher needles the company to create trouble for his friend. Winchell's desire for a career in the Army is at odds with his "deviant lifestyle"--and Fisher has prompted a company sergeant to launch an off-the-record investigation to root out out the "homosexual" hiding in their midst.
The love story is Calpernia's first relationship with a man as a woman, so she's doing as much soul searching as her Army boyfriend, who much reconcile his love with the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the US military. (Calpernia herself was enlisted in the Navy at one point, right out of high school.) The behind-the-scenes interviews and documentary about the real life Barry Winchell enhance the presentation of this politically charged romance. The movie makers elected to portray a political drama as a love story. to point out the consequences of military policy in a subtle manner, and allow the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions.