Soldier's Girl

In 1999, the soldier Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) joins the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army in Kentucky and shares a room with Justin Fisher (Shawn Hatosy) in the barrack. Fisher brings Winchell to the Visions Club, in Nashville, considered club of deviants by his superiors, and Winchell befriends the travesty Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace) that performs in the club. Soon they start seeing each other and fall in love with each other.

When Sergeant Carlos Diaz (Andre Braugher) nominates Winchell as the Soldier of the Month, the jealous Fisher spreads rumors on the base telling that Winchell is a fag. Further, he manipulates the homophobic new comer Calvin Glover (Philip Eddolls) against Winchell. On July, Fourth, the coward Glover has a violent outburst against Winchell while he is sleeping with tragic consequences.

"Soldier's Girl" is a heartbreaking story of love, intolerance, cruelty, manipulation and cowardliness based on the true story of the soldier Barry Winchell. The movie is impressively well made for a television movie, with a perfect direction of Frank Pierson.

However the performances are the best in this movie, highlighting the acting of Lee Pace with an outstanding performance. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

First off congrats to the wonderful Troy Garity and to Lee pace ( Especially Lee Pace) for really doing a film where both of these actors will be noticed for more film roles in the future and I was very glad to see at this years Emmy Awards that they weren't forgotten at least as nominees though Lee Pace definatley deserved an award for playing a throughly convincing transsexual. Also kudos to Shawn Hatosy for playing a very sexually repressed moron who if he'd have just accepted his own blossoming homosexual feelings the real Mr Winchell would still be here today. I apperciate this movie on so many levels from it showing how this nations military policy of " Don't ask Don't tell" is absolute BS, to how society at large and including our own president feels about the love bewteen 2 people of the same sex. And it shows just how judgemental society is tworads especially the transgendered society in todays world. The ending as shocking as it it is is just as brutal as the story of the late Teena Brandon as her story was depicted in the equally great film Boy's Don't Cry. If you have Showtime watch this film when they replay it or go to your local video store and rent the VHS or DVD of this phenominal film. Redencks and Homophobes steer clean of thsi movie. I wouldn't want you to get your jollies off watching a kind and sincere person die for loving someone who was just as kind but confused about their sexuality. ***** out of *****

I remember a couple of months ago hearing the story of Barry Winchell on A&E. I was so hurt and disgusted by the fact that something like this could happen and the person that did this awful thing was not put to death. So later when I heard about Soldier's Girl, I decided to rent it and check it out. I put it in and was entranced by this amazing love story. I was moved to tears, which is a difficult thing for me to do. The story was so loving and yet so tragic. Like Calpernia says in the beginning of the movie, "I'm going to tell you a story, like all great stories, it is a love story. And like all great love stories, it's tragic." The movie broke my heart and I was ashamed to know that my country let this happen and go unpunished in my opinion. Facing the homophobia of society is tough for any person, I know this first hand. Barry Winchell was a resilient person to be able to take what he took from others, and not let them stop him from falling in love. Best movie I've seen based on a true story in awhile. I would recommend seeing it to anyone.

Overall well worth watching. It does have the standard host of Army reality errors -- calling NCOs sir, wearing hats indoors when not bearing weapons, calling a Sergeant Major "sarge," etc. Curiously, having extremely defective people (like the nut with the bat) in the Army, especially combat arms, is NOT an error. When I was a tanker in the late 80s, I saw America's finest, most giving, young men. I also saw a lot of mutants that wouldn't make it on the outside. At that time 90%+ of both types were rabidly homophobic. I doubt much has changed. Because of that, I find it a bit difficult to buy that the main character wouldn't hide his affair much better than the movie depicted. Then again, things did go terribly wrong. Even though I'm a strong supporter of the military, when "don't ask, don't tell" was created, I thought that a gay person must be insane to want to go into the service. Clearly, little has changed.

I would like to say that the tragic events portrayed by this movie are sad and unrelenting. It is a shame, that the murder of Barry Winchell has to remind the rest of us that we should not be taking our freedom for granted and that although we may believe we can love who we want to love, it may not happen that way.

The movie was well done and really hit home the message that society and those who live and participate in that society can change your life forever. It is surprising that the actions of one or two people can have devastating consequences for us all. I used to tell people, COME OUT, BE YOURSELF, what are people gonna do? Kill you? Well this movie made me rethink my actions. If this movie at least taught me something, then it was worth it. We have to be mindful of our message, even although our intentions are good.

Part of the reason why very few gay men and women go into the army is in case a tradigy occurs just like this. They have lost trust in the system and their fellow man. Why put your life in the hands of others, when they can steal it away in an instant.

So here is a note for the actors Troy Garity and Lee Pace and director Frank Pierson, choose your roles with care, be mindful of the message you portray in your work. It is easy to get caught up in money, the drama and the fans or even to think that acting is just a job that pays the bills. People watch these movies and may get the wrong or the right message. I commend the cast and crew of Soldier's Girl for portraying the right message and in such a way that it was not a mockery and just a story for TV ratings.

My heart goes out to Calpernia, Barry's mother and family and those whom were involved. It is a sad affair and I hope the day never comes when we have to bare such pain, due to the actions of others. This tragidy is the responsibility of us all and not just those directly involved.

Take care everyone Your friend ZAK