Stonewall

While Stonewall hits upon some facts about the Stonewall Riots, it is pretty much based upon fiction. Much of this movie is apocryphal. For example, the who idea that the Stonewall Riots were somehow influenced by Judy Garland's death was suggested by the homophobic police-- as a bigoted joke.

New research shows that the Stonewall Riots were started by what most people would classify as sissies from nearby bars after hearing that police were beating up Stonewall patrons. There weren't very many drag queens allowed in the Stonewall.

The police who conducted the bust were not from the precinct that was in charge of the area; but a separate group dealing with morals violation. In fact, once barricaded inside the bar, they called for help, but the Sixth Precint wouldn't help, having already been paid off by the mob who owned the bar.

this is one of the great low-budget "queer cinema" triumphs of the 90s'....

contrary to the above commenter, i do think the details are right... and yes, the cops were homophobic.. they used arcane, outdated laws to close gay bars.. have u read the book "stonewall"? they make it very clear that lots of bars - gay and str8 - were "illegal".. only the gay ones were shut down..

i was very impressed by the right-on details in the production design..

A young gay man from the sticks comes to New York City in 1969 hoping for a better life, but finds the homosexual lifestyle just as stifled in the big city under police pressure, corruption and harassment. The legendary gay riots near the Stonewall Inn take up just five minutes of the film's running-time, the final five minutes. This low-budget, brightly-colored film is more interested in the lives that would soon be affected by the riots than in the aftermath of the violence--and so we get stock characters like the naive blond cowboy, the underworld group controlling the club, the straight-seeming activists for a Homosexual Alliance, and lots and lots of drag queens. Director Nigel Finch seems to make a concerted effort to equate homosexuality with drag behavior, and drag behavior with (ultimately) prostitution. Perhaps this was true of the times, but Finch's presentation (though not campy) has cartoonish leanings and nostalgic overtures that don't express anything more than what most people already realize: the cops were corrupt, the gays were not saints, and they clashed. There's a good movie to be made about Stonewall, but this one just scratches the surface. There are some sweet moments (a sing-along on a bus, a dance between a drag queen and a gay conservative), but just as many scenes where the tone intended hasn't a hope in hell of coming through. ** from ****

The major value of the film Stonewall is to remind all of us just what gay people dealt with before a big rebellion took place in the last week of June in 1969. The film is based on a novel by historian Martin Duberman and the director Nigel Finch died before his testament of the Stonewall Rebellion could be seen and appreciated.

A couple of love stories are involved here. Country boy Frederick Weller arrives from Kansas and he's hoping that New York City will be more accepting of him. Or at least he'll find a community of sorts. That part of the story hasn't ever changed. He's caught between young closeted gay lawyer Brendan Corbalis and professional drag queen Guillermo Diaz.

The second love story is between the owner of the Stonewall Inn and a drag queen played by Bruce MacVittie and Duane Boutte. MacVittie has lived all his life with all the insane rules placed on same sex contact by society and its criminal code against sodomy. Boutte is ready to rebel, but MacVittie counsels go slow it's the way of things in this world. Still he's having just about enough of it.

Weller is a rebellious sort, he gets caught in a bar raid the first night he's in New York. Apparently the concept of freedom in America doesn't extend to those who love of the same sex. He finds the Mattachine Society with their button down ways and it ain't for him. But in a way they do fire his revolutionary ardor.

The Mattachine Society comes in for quite a beating in Stonewall. They were a radical concept in their idea when the mere idea of protesting these laws was radical. In a scene laced with humor and irony Weller is with a group with accompanying press who challenges the law against serving liquor to known homosexuals. Yes there indeed was such a law. The only place that enforces the ordinance is a gay bar because they're afraid of police entrapment.

Of course the end of the film is the riot at the Stonewall Inn which sparked a movement. The unbelievable but true twist on events is the cops including the NYPD's crack tactical police unit equipped for riots retreating into a newly emptied Stonewall Inn for their own safety is truly a sight to behold.

This is a fine film which captures the spirit of that night when it wasn't button down businessmen and lawyers, but rebels in high heels who changed America and the world.

The night they raided the NYC underground bar Stonewall was the night gay pride exploded into the mainstream. This film tells the story of that night through a group of characters who each shine with their own unique story. There's La Miranda and Matty Dean, the central fictional figures of this film, and their struggle to find love, respect and honour in 1969 against numerous odds. But there are many other important stories told in this beautiful film. Dazzling, bright, strong and rousing are just four words but they settle easily into any sentence describing Stonewall - the movie. Its one of the most colourful and well designed films I've seen - so lush and grand in its set design and the musical numbers blaze. This delicious film is an aching, sweet transport into another time and place and provides a jaunty historical summation of the pride and intensity the name Stonewall still retains in the twentieth century history of the gay experience. Its a love story, a political tale, a drag odyssey and a wonderful expression of the powerful bonds that dark times promote and cement. Most of all, its a film to share with people you care about and want to grow through life with - so march to see it now.