Anatomy of a Hate Crime

Plot

Presented in three half-hour "acts" by the MTV cable network on January 10, 2001, the fact-based Anatomy of a Hate Crime was the opening volley of MTV's year-long campaign "Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination." In recalling the horrendous torture-murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard near Laramie, WY in 1998, the film focuses as much on the twisted logic and motivations of Matthew's killers Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney as it does on the victim and the crime. Cy Carter stars as the unfortunate Shepard, with Ian Somerhelder and Brendan Fletcher, respectively, cast as Henderson and McKinney. Filmed in Alberta, Anatomy of a Hate Crime was originally bookended by a marathon recital of recent examples of sexual and racial persecution, delivered by an impressive list of unseen celebrities. Curiously, the Shepard Foundation, formed after Matthew's murder, would not endorse the MTV film, preferring instead to put their clout behind the 2002 NBC TV movie The Matthew Shepard Story. (See also separate website entry for The Laramie Project.) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

This fact-based MTV flick finds a middle ground between the hackneyed grandstanding of NBC's The Matthew Shepard Story and the nuanced experimentation of HBO's The Laramie Project. Directed by River's Edge veteran Tim Hunter, Anatomy of a Hate Crime focuses on the months leading up to and following the 1998 murder of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard. Max Ember's teleplay explores not only Shepard's struggle for self-acceptance, but also the petty criminality and downward mobility of his killers and their girlfriends. Shepard's parents and his best friend, Romaine Patterson, who figured prominently in the other two filmed versions of the story, do not appear -- presumably because of legal issues regarding their rights to their own stories. The result is a film that lives up to its title, portraying the social and economic forces that shaped the lives of Shepard's murderers and leaving open the question of whether hate was truly the motivating factor. The unfortunate choice to provide stagey voice-over narration by Shepard himself -- in the form Cy Carter, who turns in an otherwise strong performance -- hampers the film's otherwise sociological approach. Otherwise, Anatomy of a Hate Crime tells another compelling version of events that shaped the ongoing national debate about gay rights. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Cast

• Cy Carter - Matthew Shepard
• Ian Somerhalder - Russell Henderson
• Brendan Fletcher - Aaron McKinney
• Busy Philipps - Chastity Pasley
• Amanda Fuller - Kristen Price

Richard Stroh - Carter Grey; Grant Linneberg - Officer John Ryan; Doug MacLeod - Darren Fox; Kevin McNulty - Carl Mazani; Chris Enright - Wayne Barnes; Valerie Planche - Russell's Aunt; Rainer Kahl - Justin Clowes; John Innes - Judge Kramer; Aaron Goettel - Public Defender; Matthew Currie Holmes - Jay; Carrie Schiffler - Officer Vicki Reese; Scott Urquart - Paul Dupree; Terry Lawrence - Construction Boss

Credit

Tim Hunter - Director, Sunny Hodge - Editor, Lawrence Bender - Executive Producer, Danny Nowak - Cinematographer, Bill Bannerman - Producer, Nicole Pennington - Producer, Max Ember - Screenwriter

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