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(More customer reviews)I saw this movie the same day that I saw Million Dollar Baby (the boxing film starring Hillary Swank and Clint Eastwood), and at the end all I could think was - is this how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve? Crying?
Well, it was worth it.
Barry's story is well known, so I'll skip a retelling. Although I never fully understood Barry's interest in Calpernia, only because the movie didn't make any attempts to delve into the "why" of his attraction to her, I found myself moved by their love, and Barry's fierce determination to keep his private life (Calpernia) private.
What a shame that he shared barracks with such a horrendous and sick person (Justin). I know some people in the armed forces that are gay (but don't ask me who, because I won't tell ), and they are well accepted by their ... I don't know the technical terms here...comrades in arms. How's that. A pity that Barry didn't get stuck with a person whose problem was certainly far worse than OCD.
Anyway. What I found particularly moving, and what has caused me to watch the movie again, were the special features on the CD. Usually the special features are interesting for ancillary purposes. But these were different. First, I was surprised to find that Calpernia's [...] weren't real. I had been rather convinced that a real transgender was playing her role. Instead, it was a male, with a rather flat chest, so his performance was even more interesting. That's one of the main reasons I want to watch the film again.
Calpernia Adams herself appeared in the Special Features, and I was so surprised. I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with transgenders, but did not expect her to be so much like a lady. NOT a gay man acting like a lady, but a real lady. Her comments on Barry were pointed and poignant. Also, she did have her final operation, and is working now in L.A.
The other appearance of note in the Special Features was that of Barry's mother herself. We learned a little more about Barry than in the film. When he first went to Visions, his "buddies" were taking him there to get his mind off his breakup with his girlfriend of four years. She wondered if Barry was actually gay, but said that it didn't matter. What mattered is that what happened to him was a terrible crime, one of bigotry and hate, and so she and her husband have taken it upon themselves to speak when and wherever they can to combat closed minds. Good for them.
There were only two things that angered me. One, the person that killed Barry will be eligible for parole in less than thirteen years. The manner in which he killed Barry should have garnered him life imprisonment without the possibility of parole - at best. Also, the instigator of his death, Justin, is up for parole very soon. If not for his pressuring, the little idiot (Glover?) that killed Barry probably wouldn't have done it. If the movie showed that scene correctly, as it actually happened, then Justin is just as responsible for Barry's death as Glover, and should be in prison for a very long time.
*Added 9/29/06 - According to the October 10th, 2006 issue of The Advocate, "Justin Fisher...was [released] to a halfway house [last month]. Fisher will be out of custody entirely October 24."
He didn't spend nearly enough time for this crime. How horribly, horribly sad.
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