Hate Crime

I saw this film at the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and found it to be very good (even if sometimes somewhat predictable). Within the first 15 minutes or so, I had figured out who committed the crime.

While I found the film to be of good quality, I also found it to be a bit disturbing.

It seemed to want to show real Christianity as a stark contrast to hate-mongering fundamentalism, and for that it should be praised. But while it took great effort to show that there are Christians who aren't filled with hate and intolerance, it seemed to glorify attempts at revenge. I found the incongruency to be quite disturbing.

It'd be a really good conversation starter.

I just returned from a screening of Hate Crime.

Badger pester and cajole your local art house, film series or festival to book this film. I went in expecting sort of the same tired, cliché driven gay theme film we are so used to seeing, especially from first time writer directors. But not only is it very accomplished as a film, the script is excellent, and ultimately not predictable, though several times during, you will be certain you will know what will happen next--and proved wrong. Most of the actors are new faces, at least for me, and all are good to excellent, primarily the leads.

Not only is the dialog impressive, I enjoyed how this director wasn't afraid of unspoken silences, and holding a moment or scene, letting it play out.

This is a solid story from first-time director, Tommy Stovall. I like to be surprised with twists in dramatic films, such as this, and the first half of the film led me to believe that there wouldn't be any. Oh, but there was! I'm not one to spoil a good plot twist so I'll leave you all to see it for yourself, but know that it was a pretty decent twist. There was one point in the film where I actually cheered out loud in the theater because Stovall did such a great job of developing his main character, Robbie, played by Seth Peterson, he made you really love it when good things happened. One scene I particularly enjoyed was the church scene - CREATIVELY executed.

The story is a very serious topic - one that would generally make me uncomfortable watching, but it was put together well and for a small budget project, turned out great.

The only major criticisms I had were 1) the acting of the primary child actor was not fabulous - there's a crying scene that's hard to take serious because you can tell he's "acting" and 2) Robbie's colorful neighbor character didn't seem as developed as you'd have thought she should have been. She was cute and funny, but it seemed like she was missing an endearing scene or two to help build her relationship between her and her neighbors, who she considered family.

Seth Peterson, Farah White, Brandy Little, Cindy Pickett and Bruce Davision were particularly good in this film. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this film a 7.5 to 8. Go see it, the subject alone and how it's dealt with should be seen by everyone. Hate is not a family value. Thank you Tommy, for making this film.

The movie has a very simple and predictable script. However, it's very emotional and ends up being not a bad movie to watch. Does show the power of love.....and hate!

This movie explores the dark side of religion--in this case, how hatred of gays can disrupt and even devastate people's lives. It is a very thought-provoking movie, and provides a perspective on how people become "gay bashers"...even, and especially, those who consider themselves Christians. One scene was exceptionally well developed and produced which explores how the same issue can be so differently viewed when coming from a place of love versus a place of fear.

The actors are all very believable and effective in their roles, but I must give a "hats off" to Pastor Boyd, Trey's mother and the Neighbor Woman...they really give exceptional performances.

The music score really helps build the suspense in a very subtle way, and was supportive of the meaning of the movie throughout. I found myself thinking about the movie, different scenes, parts of the dialog...for DAYS afterward. It really made me examine my values and honestly explore how I would react in the same situation. And that, to me, is what good movie-making is all about.