The Matthew Shepard Story

I found this to be a very touching and moving movie with wonderful performances by all, however, I felt it would have been much better without all the grainy and artistic camera shots, and that the movie would have been more effective if told from the beginning to the end rather than jumping forward, back, forward, and showing so many flashbacks. It was beautiful and brave to show the kiss between Matthew and his friend, but they could have explored that relationship a bit more so that we could feel a little more like we knew something of Matthew's life. Overall, I think it was a very sad and scary tale of what hate and discrimination and prejudice can do to everyone when they get out of control. I seriously hope everyone will learn from the tragic tale of Matthew Sheppard's life and this movie.

I watched The Matthew Shepard Story on the same night that The Laramie Project was being shown and I purposely watched it in fits and starts, switching back and forth between the two. The opening minutes of The Matthew Shepard Story were almost more than I could bear.I switched back quickly to the more sanitized version of Matt's torture and brutal murder - where he was an off-screen presence - where the absolute horror of that night was not played out in front of your eyes. It is the real story of that night which proved to be the images which still stay with me one year after the showing of the movie. The film was one that had to be made, where the viewer is allowed into the Shepard family and invited to feel their struggles to understand , to face their grief and their questions which any of us who are parents constantly face - How can we protect our children from the world full of things that can hurt them? How do you find peace in so much terror? The acting is,in my view extremely powerful and vulnerable at the same time, and Shane Meier's portrayal of Matthew tugs at your heart. I would recommend this movie highly and hope that it is available to the public at some point. It opened my heart and further opened my mind. I have not been the same since viewing it.

The Matthew Shepard Story was a great tribute to his life, and what happened to him when and after he died. You will have to see it to make your own opinions, but my opinion is it was undoubtfully great! So many things remind me of my own life, which make it even better. I do recommend this movie to young/old, gay/straight, man/woman, just everyone!

I can only hope that at least a few people who were not familiar with the case saw this thought provoking accurate portayal of a horrendous hateful act and its aftermath. As usual, Sam Watterston and Stockard Channing did an excellent job portraying the grieving parents. Any parent should relate to the turmoil, self-blame and general heart break that Judy and Dennis Shepard went through during that horrible period of time. Also, the agony that Dennis Shepard endured before he finally made his last minute decision about the death penalty was extremely well-done. I hope this movie will pave the way for others like it and and hopefully change the minds of some who might be "on the fence" regarding hate crime legislation.

Then my crying after the movie was completely justified. I had no idea! I did not really follow the entire case (scary, huh? especially since I *am* gay and was in school -- okay, graduate school) which is probably why I didn't get caught up with the story, back then or subsequently.

I'm glad NBC decided to air the movie (which does not surprise me, since "Will & Grace" is also aired on the same network, as are several other shows with gay characters).

I liked the acting in it very much -- Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston were really good. Shane Meier (sidebar: yum!) was excellent and convincing and really knew how to elicit sympathy from the viewer. I hope this comes out on video or gets packaged for sale on video soon. I am not a human rights or gay rights expert, or even activist, by any stretch of the imagination, and will not pretend to be one now, but the movie really was quite human and tugs at your heartstrings. Clearly, for other than sentimental reasons, this is a good movie to have been made and aired -- perhaps in some small way, it would contribute to fair and respectful treatment of others who are of a different persuasion altogeter.