Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story

My partner and I have been watching a lot of these true movies lately, and this is a real gem. It illustrates how society was (and in some parts of the world still is) struggling with true tolerance towards all that is different and doesn't fit into a neat traditional box. The actors are all very convincing, and unless you are of the narrow-minded, intolerant persuasion, you will be rooting for Glenn Close's character throughout! It is beautifully shot, and not overly sentimental, yet very moving. With the current fuss about the Olympics in Russia, this film seems to be timeless and relevant even all those years later. Maybe some societies still need to catch up. If you get a chance to watch this, do!

I saw this years ago, and recently found a copy of the video in a used/secondhand video store.

A remarkable drama, with a fine performance by Glenn Close, this is a tightly woven and deeply touching & affecting film.

Kudos.

This TV movie co-produced by Barbra Streisand gained controversy because of a kiss between Glenn Close and Judy Davis. It's hard to know why since it's not the first representation of lesbianism on TV and the kiss itself looks pretty strained.

Director Jeff Bleckner presents Close as a real life Washington National Guard nurse who is discharged from the Army for `immoral conduct' after revealing her sexual orientation, although she argues that her relationship doesn't incorporate `conduct'. What we see is a lot of intense eye contact between Close and Davis as her artist girlfriend and a fair share of hugging, though Close tends to hug practically everyone she meets. Davis is presented as the ideal femme partner. She's supportive, she says all the right things, the family likes her and she is funny, particularly when she is outed `on prime time'.

The script by Alison Cross is tight and intelligent, thankfully focusing more on relationships than Cammermeyer's trial, and Bleckner allows the two actors to create a subtle interplay. Close has fun with the butch army stereotype and is moving when she confesses to her sons, her tears bursting forth.

This movie is an inspiration to all those who are afraid of standing up for who they are because they are afraid it might hurt their careers.

The only reason I gave this movie 9 instead of 10 points is that it was a little too careful not to shock the audience. When Close and Davis finally do kiss (which I was afraid they would not even do, given the fact that American filmmakers tend to depict lesbians as cousins rather than lovers), they miss each other's lips by at least an inch. But that is really my one and only objection to this wonderful and, again, inspiring movie.

Saw this many years ago! Very touching then and it's very touching now! Hopefully we've come a long way and this is still not happening. I was a teenager then and I thought it was so unfair to take away her rights all because she was lesbian !? She had worked hard and was dedicated in serving her country. Of course this movie was before the don't ask don't tell policy.