In 1998 on the outskirts of Laramie Wyoming a hate crime was committed that would change the world. A 21 year old Gay man was tied to a wooden fence and beaten savagely and left to die - seemingly by a couple of kids that you might live next door to. The kind of kids that might mow your lawn of wheel your garbage out tot he curb. This murder became a world-wide news event and something of watershed for this sort of senseless crime, that quickly engendered change in the perceptions of the public attitude regarding hate-crime. True most Americans aren't haters and take a "live and let live" approach to anyone whose lifestyle is different from their own, but the prominence of hate crimes became a hot-topic after the murder of Matthew Shepherd. It's as though once again a Shepherd became a martyr.

Even the most hard core anti-homosexual residents of Laramie were shocked by the ugliness of the crime and changed their attitude and the nationwide awareness of these grisly events, prompted a familiar theme which was, "nobody deserves to be treated like that." Moisés Kaufman, an openly gay writer and theater director (Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde), traveled to Laramie with his a very nervous crew where they conducted interviews with some 100 townspeople. Based on those interviews, Kaufman wrote The Laramie Project as a play and the stage production has now been adapted for film. The film reenacts the process used by the crew into an accurate reaction they received from the townspeople of Laramie. The biggest difference with this theatrical version is that screen actors are blended among the real townspeople both on Kaufman's team as well as the townsfolk, interspersed with some archival footage. It's a hybrid sort of film--a documentary that is acted out to some extent.

The result of this mixture of real locals and screen actors works well enough, thanks in part to the fantastic actors that Kaufman was able to attract, but there's still something about this experiment that seems to detract from the gravity of the events that transpired. Still Kaufman was able to attract a pretty impressive roster, if I may say. Kaufman approaches the documentary in a way that doesn't go after cheap sentimentality, in fact even as big of a ball-baby as I am, I think I only wept once or twice. The case itself is certainly poignant that it would take a heart of ice not to well up watching it unfold and listening to the deeply felt emotions of Shepard's friends and family and others in the town. Kaufman records the protestations of some of the townspeople who reiterate the theme that Laramie is a "live and let live" place. While their dubious belief in this credo, their naiveté (or denial) is discovered in remarks from some of the gay residents.

An interesting contrast is made between a humane Catholic priest and a fundamentalist Protestant minister. The Protestant expressed his hope that Shepard "had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle" as he lay exposed and dying, tied to a fence after being tortured and brutally pistol whipped. Whereas the Catholic Priest shares no such desire for Shepard's mortal castigation. The most emotionally stirring scene involves the Shepard's father who is allowed a statement before the jury hands dwon the punishment verdict. This man is clearly torn between the very real desire for revenge and also the desire to rise above it and show this boy the mercy he did not show his son. It is eloquent and heartbreaking - particularly as you notice the resemblence between the murdered boy and this fresh baby-faced youngster who did the murdering. In the end the father opts to spare the young boy the death penalty.

Of all of the big name celebrities that Kaufman was able to attract, Amy Madigan steals the show as the local deputy who originally finds and prolongs Shepard's life and as a consequence of helping the blood-soaked victim to the hospital ends up contracting AIDS. This too, she writes-off as the dangers of the job and she is eventually cured because of the early detection.

I will say this, that this strange hybrid of real townspeople and real actors had a kind of diluting effect on the emotion of the event. It lessens the power, that might have been better shot as a straight documentary. On the other hand the involvement of stars like Christia Ricci, Steve Buscemi, Laura Linney, Summer Phoenix, Dylan Baker, Janine Garofalo, Ellen Degeneres, Peter Fonda, Joshua Jackson, Clea Duvall, Jeremy Davies and Amy Madigan will proably make it so more poeple watch this film and it is a film that needs to be seen. They should make it mandatory that high school kids watch it.

While I am going to give this a high grade, just in case by doing so I'll encourage at least one more person to see this movie. I'd would however, be remiss as a critic if I didn't make my opinion clear that the end result of taking this thing from the stage and then to this odd mix of reality and fiction, limits it from becoming the profound and important piece of art that it is would have been were it not juggled back and forth from reality to charterizational fiction. Even so, it's an effective look into the beady little eye of America.