Valentine Road

I have always thought that great documentaries achieve greatness because they manage to strike a strong emotional reaction in the viewer. A film that covers a subject well but which doesn't excite the viewer, in my opinion, cannot be a great documentary. Valentine Road is a great documentary, as it's practically impossible to watch the film without having exceptionally strong feelings welling up inside as you watch. Additionally, the filmmaker's style is extremely effective and manages to make the most of describing this horrible tragedy and its aftermath. And, because it is so emotional and so effective, you might just want to watch it with a box of Kleenex nearby.

The film is about an awful murder that occurred a few years ago in Oxnard, California. In front of his entire 8th grade class, Brandon McInerney pulled out a gun and shot his classmate, Larry. This was no accident--Brandon meant to do this, as he then put the gun up to the other kid's head and pulled the trigger again...killing the boy. None of this is disputed--Brandon killed the other kid and intended to.

This initial portion of the film brought me close to tears many times. It's tragic...and pointless. You cannot help but feel the pain of the kids who were forced to watch their classmate die--and the victim seemed like a nice kid. However, here is where the film starts to get uncomfortable--very uncomfortable. Many folks now begin to talk in front of the camera about many issues that seriously annoyed me. First, Brandon has many supporters who feel that his being tried as an adult is wrong and want him kept in the juvenile justice system (where they can only keep him until he comes of age). This subject is controversial and is bound to cause a lot of strong feelings in the viewer to erupt. Second, lots of folks (particularly teachers and jurors from the first trial) come up with reasons to blame Larry for being murdered. After all, some reasoned, Larry sure ACTED gay and had made advances on Brandon...and so, in a way, it's not Brandon's fault that he killed Larry. Others argued that Brandon grew up in a violent home--so his behavior is understandable. An awful lot of folks seemed really, really invested in coming up with these and other reasons that Brandon wasn't necessarily at fault...or at least to mitigate his guilt. In reading through some reviews on IMDb, I also noticed that some viewers also felt this way...so this is apparently a common reaction to the case.

"Valentine Road" is a great bit of social commentary and it illustrates the hidden divide within our communities. It will cause you to have many strong reactions and question the justice system, the school, the community and much more. But the best part of this is that the film's tone remains rather neutral. There is no narration and the camera just lets people talk and say what's on their mind--and it's surprising that folks are so candid about what they think deep within. I am sure you'll think some of these folks are total idiots! I love documentaries like this because they do not spoon-feed you and allow you to think for yourself--and decide WHO the idiots are! And, given its emotional impact and message, it's a film to see. See this documentary from HBO Films for yourself and see what you make of the case. And, wow...there's a lot to think about with this one!

By the way, my own feelings about this case are VERY strong--and some of this is probably because I was a teacher who also taught 8th grade (among others). This could have happened in one of my classrooms as I knew kids a lot like Brandon as well as Larry. It's sobering to think about that...

I'm ready to fight so many adults defending Brandon. He killed someone and was being influenced by his toxic, white supremacist brother. Some of these adults just seemed like they didn't care about Larry because he was gay. I get it. He was young, but Jiminy Christmas, they thought 21 yrs was excessive. It was murder that was pretty much an execution. Overall, the doc was good, but jeez, some people just shouldn't be around kids.

On February 12th 2008, in Oxnard California, a 14 year-old student Brandon brought a school to gun and shot his classmate Larry from point blank range in the back of his head while we was working on a computer in class. The day before Larry, who had a crush on Brandon, had asked him to be his Valentine in front of his friends embarrassing him. In the weeks leading up to the incident, Larry had begun to wearing makeup and accessorising, and had come out to friends.

The documentary, Valentine Road, slowly unpacks the incident through interviews with the community. There are endless perspectives here, from Larry's friends at school - including Marina, a classmate who came out to her Mum when she was picked up after the shooting; the defense lawyers, who were so moved by the case that they decided to represent Brandon pro bono; the foster parents who used to look after Larry; the Jurors who joined the 'Save Brandon' cause after the trial was declared a mistrial. The only voice that was really missing from the film was Larry's.

The remarkable journey that this film took was an emotional roller coaster. The film fluctuated between taking the audience to incredibly sad places, emphasising the life that was lost. But the real sadness is the embedded homophobia that still exists in the community. Some of the perspectives are hard to listen to. There were times that I felt so much anger towards the people that were expressing their intolerance and this failure to understand that people are different which only breeds Brandon's who believe they have no choice but to use violence. There's also the incredible joy of seeing hope through the people that had learned from this incident and learned to stand up for what is right.

Not blaming Brandon was one of the incredible feats of the film. Instead the film kept at a distance, remaining objective. It was clear at times where the film was leveling its critique: the scene in which a bunch of jurors hang out discussing the case is long, as the statements they make about the case becoming increasingly stupid, naive and upsetting. This is so topical and so relevant. It must be seen and people must talk about this. For me, the most striking thing was the dominance of the intolerance. When intolerance makes up the hegemonic viewpoint bad things happen. I hope that Oxnard can, at some point, learn from this.

I am speachless after this documentary. How can the adults live with themselves after acting like this? It's terrifying how they sympatice for someone that killed someone else for showing unwanted affection. I really hope that people learn from this so people can feel the freedom of being themselves without fear.

That's what I got from this film. Almost ALL of the adults seem like a bunch of narrow minded zombies. Is it any wonder that such a tragedy occurred?

The school should have taken control of the situation, clearly it was a powder keg waiting for a spark.

Larry should have been counseled as to how to deal with his issues.

Brandon was another lost kid and ended up killing Larry. The school and his parents were absent and incompetent, if either side would have exercised a little guidance we would have seen a totally different outcome.

The jurors are another group of idiots who have their heads up their a$$es.

I could have done without all the interviews with the kids- a little goes a long way.

In conclusion, I was quite literally shocked that these backward people went on camera and admitted to being so closed minded. No wonder the kids are screwed up!