The Laramie Project

"The Laramie Project" is a film version of the play of the same name, culled from interviews with real residents of the town of Laramie, Wyoming in the wake of the horrific murder of Matthew Shepard. There are a lot of famous faces on hand (Steve Buscemi, Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo, Joshua Jackson, and many others), but the film's power comes from its story, not its stars.

Presented with the voices of Laramie - and ultimately, of America - one is forced to confront the realities of violence and hate in a way that is intense, even infuriating, but extremely worthwhile. An intelligent, complex, and very relevant piece of work.

It took me a long time until I finally rented the DVD version of this. I live in Laramie, I go to the University. I didn't arrive here until 2000, but I was, and always have been, a Wyoming resident. Part of me was curious, especially with the actors involved, but another part realized how close to home this was. How close? My drama teacher Lou Anne Wright played Matthew Shepards mother (albeit uncredited).

When I first started watching this I was really confused. If they were taking a documentary approach, why in the hell would they then use real actors? As I sat and thought about it more, though, it made a bit more sense. The interviews were recorded only audibly at the time of the incident for the play version. You could sit down and reshoot it with the original citizens, but it would no longer feel natural. Plus I doubt they would've gotten all the people to consent to being filmed. Remember this is a small town and anonymity can go a long ways.

Aside from the acted documentary, I really felt they did a good job of trying to bring Laramie to life. Yes, they did focus a bit too much on the train tracks which are more or less out of town. I've only even seen them a few times in my 3 years here. They seperate Laramie from West Laramie. Not East Laramie from West Laramie, but Laramie from West Laramie, which should tell you something. Aside from that, it felt surreal to watch this. When I stepped outside my dorm afterwards to return it, I was staring right in the face of the hotel sign that at the time of filming read "Hate is Not a Laramie Value." I drove down third street and saw Laramie Lumber, I drove back on 4th and saw the antiquated Spic & Span Laundry. When they talk about how they drove past Walmart when they went out to kill him, I knew that road. I've driven home on that road many a time.

The characters were also extremely well-acted. For every character I saw portrayed on screen, I've known at least one Wyoming resident that was exactly like them. While some of the performances may have seemed extreme and hokey to some, I felt they had it down pat. I laughed to myself when Buscemi's character spelled out H-O-P-E for emphasis...I've heard the same silly thing done the same way by the same sort of people. Aside from "Live and Let Live" which I can honestly say I've never heard here in 20 years of WY residence (yet was emphasized over and over in the film), I've heard many of the same statements said almost verbatim by people I know.

The story, of course, is touching, but the route they went of making it the story of Laramie vs. the story of Matthew Shepard made it more than just a movie-of-the-week style thing. You can feel the emotions seeping through the screen. At the angel protest, I felt like jumping up and shouting down the bigoted guy leading the anti-gay side.

For its authenticity and heart-felt storytelling, I can't help but give this one a strong recommendation.

i was very impressed with this documentary-style tv movie. i appreciated the fact that the filmmaker took this approach, giving a sense (at least i hope) of the people on whom these interviews are based, while allowing a buffer zone so that the real people are not subjected to more publicity OR made to look stupid because of their personal beliefs. i thought it was a very wise approach to take and allows more of an unbiased POV in many ways than would a straight up documentary. not to say that this piece was unbiased - it wasn't - and i don't think it should have been. but the filmmaker did not take any low blows and that was refreshing. the way the whole piece was put together was different - i could feel the theatrical aspect coming in, the visuals were much more fractured than a standard tv movie, and i could REALLY appreciate that this was not just another murder story come to life on screen.

thank you for not doing a re-enactment of the crime! i think it was WAY more effective to hear it described by people. i found the laramie project to be horrifying and touching, and i wish more pieces were made that hit at such a gut level. i won't forget this movie.

A work that is exceptional both in terms of its structure and in terms of the unique nature of the presentation. It brings into sharp focus many of the complex elements of a horror like this and the profound effects which it has on the many disparate participants.

The quality of the acting is superb evidencing a dedication to the material that goes beyond mere craftwork; many of the performances are obviously from the heart and the soul. Dylan Baker, Amy Madigan, Jeremy Davies, Peter Fonda, Joshua Jackson, and Camryn Manheim are stellar. The courtroom speech by Matthew's Father is historical. The direction is challenging and engaging.

It takes a truly cold, trite, and hardened heart to dismiss such a moving film predicated solely upon the prejudices, regressive political posturing, and obvious homophobia brought to such dismissals.

A young gay man brutally killed by two young men trying to make a point about their hatred of homosexuals is the basis of Moises Kaufman's brilliant play seen here a few years ago. On the stage the play is somewhat detached because of the limitations in the text, but as a film, adapted for the screen by Mr. Kaufman, the immediacy of the story is more shocking than in the theater.

"The Laramie Project" is seen in a documentary fashion. The director and his assistants went to Laramie to investigate the incident that caused a world wide uproar because of the savage way Matthew Shepard's death had caused. In recreating the facts, Mr. Kaufman has dramatized the story by having real actors play the different people in town with whom he and his collaborators talked during the days of the research trip.

What comes out about the story is that individually, the citizens of Laramie were as shocked as everyone else was. After all, they considerer themselves as pretty tolerant, so why a horrible tragedy like this could ever happened amongst them? In fact, it only takes a pair of misguided individuals, who think thought they would make a statement by inflicting on the unsuspecting Matthew Shepard a punishment he didn't deserve.

The ensemble cast that play the different parts is an inspired choice. Mr. Kaufman was lucky in amassing such talent that respond so well to his commands. Steve Buscemi, Camryn Manhein, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Frances Sternhagen, Christina Ricci, Margo Martindale, Kathleen Chalfant, Terry Kinney, just to name a few, give excellent readings about what really occurred in Laramie.

Ultimately, Mr. Kaufman makes his point by just letting the citizens of Laramie come to terms with the horrible tragedy that shook their town.