Themes: Social Injustice, Musician's Life, Mothers and Daughters
Main Cast: Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Buscemi, Dylan Baker, Amy Madigan, Joshua Jackson, Jeremy Davies, Clea Duvall
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
Laramie, WY, is a small town which became infamous overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia. A month after the crime, Moises Kaufman, a writer and director with the New York City theater troupe the Tectonic Theater Project, traveled to Laramie with a handful of actors to interview people who lived in and around Laramie in preparation for an upcoming production; Kaufman's goal was to create a play that focused not on the assault on Matthew Shepard, but on the community where such an attack could happen, and how many of the citizens reacted to the crime. The result was The Laramie Project, which was first performed in early 2000, and was performed in Laramie in the fall of that year, two years after Kaufman and his associates first arrived in the city. The Laramie Project is a film adaptation of Kaufman's play, in which the thoughts and opinions of Laramie residents from all points of the political spectrum are presented alongside re-enacted excerpts from the trials of the two men who attacked Matthew Shepard. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, The Laramie Project was adapted for the screen by Moises Kaufman, who served as both writer and director. The distinguished cast includes Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofolo, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, and Frances Sternhagen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Innovative, mournful, and politically charged, this piece of journalistic theater translates powerfully to the screen. Helmed by its original stage director, cinematic newcomer Moises Kaufman, The Laramie Project manages not only to sidestep the obvious emotions milked by TV movies about the Matthew Shepard case, but also to reject all of their hackneyed techniques. Compiled by the Tectonic Theater Project from hundreds of hours of interviews with the residents of Laramie, WY, where Shepard was murdered, the film is more of a sociological interrogation than a dramatic story. Fragmentary and spare, the material benefits enormously from Kaufman's precise pacing, judicious use of split screens and wide-open exteriors, and sensitive direction of a motley Hollywood cast. Christina Ricci has one of the punchiest roles as Romaine Patterson, Shepard's fiery lesbian best friend, but even Laura Linney, in just one extended scene and a few snippets, manages to nail one particular outlook and set of responses, contributing to the mosaic of individual thoughts and emotions that make up the piece. Performers as diverse as '60s survivor Peter Fonda and Dawson's Creek teenybopper Joshua Jackson exhibit the same careful attention to craft. Amy Madigan deserves special mention for her grave cop role, which scans like Frances McDormand's part in Fargo drained of its humor and Minnesota kitsch. One of the few moments that rankles is the inclusion of actual news reports from the time of the murder; there's enough leftie celebrity glitz involved in the casting without seeing the real-life Ellen DeGeneres in footage of a vigil. Such minor quibbles aside, this is the most powerful film produced about the Shepard murder -- a stunning achievement considering the young man himself never appears. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Timothy Duffy - Art Director, Gerard Vernice - Boom Operator, Ann Goulder - Casting, Katie Sanders - Costume Designer, Chip Signore - First Assistant Director, Moises Kaufman - Director, Brian A. Kates - Editor, Ted Hope - Executive Producer, Ross Katz - Executive Producer, Anne Carey - Executive Producer, Peter Cane - Executive Producer, Roy Gabay - Executive Producer, Laura Lee R. Faye - Hair Styles, Mike S. Ryan - Location Manager, Peter Golub - Composer (Music Score), Alex Steyermark - Musical Direction/Supervision, Laura Van Wagner - Makeup, Ann Kukacs - Camera Operator, Dan Leight - Production Designer, Terry Stacey - Cinematographer, Declan Baldwin - Producer, Robert Abbott - Sound Mixer, Andrew Paris - Screenwriter, Kelli Simpkins - Screenwriter, Amanda Gronich - Screenwriter, Stephen Belber - Screenwriter, Greg Pierotti - Screenwriter, Barbara Pitts - Screenwriter, John McAdams - Screenwriter, Leigh Fondakowski - Screenwriter, Moises Kaufman - Screenwriter, Jeffrey LaHoste - Screenwriter, Stephen Wangh - Screenwriter, Kip Borgdahn - Second Unit Camera, Oliver Cary - First Assistant Camera, Bernadette Lee - Production Supervisor, Dylan Kieszlowski - Properties Master, Loretta Polizzi - Script Supervisor, Eric Liebowitz - Still Photographer, Annette Holt - Costume/Wardrobe, Mimi Kaupe - Costume/Wardrobe, Tanya Barnes - Assistant Hair, Robert Manning - Assistant Location Manager, Jeanette Sorenson-Hickok - Assistant Makeup, Robin Bartlett-Asnicar - Assistant Properties, Renette Saba - Camera Loader, Kelly A. King - Key Costumer, Rosanne Reid - Key Hairstylist, Claus Lulla - Key Make-up, Jerry Kuke - Leadman, Tod Boyle - Second Assistant Camera, Geoffrey Worstell - Set Dresser, Chad Branham - Set Dresser, Paul Sjoberg - Set Decorator, Andrew Paris - Play Author, Amanda Gronich - Play Author, Stephen Belber - Play Author, Greg Pierotti - Play Author, John McAdams - Play Author, Leigh Fondakowski - Play Author, Moises Kaufman - Play Author, Jeffrey LaHoste - Play Author, Stephen Wangh - Play Author, William Sewell - Art Department Coordinator
Matt Roush of TV Guide praised the film for "elevating Shephard's murder to a higher crossroads of journalism and theatricality." Roush singled out the film's cast, and its "original" and "unique investigation", likening its focus on Nestor Carbonell's Kaufman to Truman Capote making himself the star of In Cold Blood. Roush also noted the film's emotional range and its examination of homophobia, saying that it could "enlighten" viewers.[1]
