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 The Brandon Teena Story (2002)Rated: Not rated by the MPAA. Runtime: 89 mins. Director: Susan Muska; Gréta Olafsdóttir Writer: Susan Muska; Gréta Olafsdóttir Cast: Tom Nissen; John Lotter; Tina Brandon...complete cast Genre: Documentary Tagline: All Brandon wanted was to be one of the guys. Unfortunately he was a girl. Memorable quote: "If God had wanted gays, he woudn't have put women on Earth"
Awards and Recognition:
Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir’s award winning documentary, The Brandon Teena Story follows the last two months of Teena’s life after she flees hot check charges in Lincoln, Nebraska and settles in Falls City, a small, isolated white-trash town where cows outnumber people and people outnumber complete sets of teeth. Teena claims to suffer from a “gender identity crisis” that causes her to believe she’s a man, although her body is that of a woman. Amazingly, she is able to disguise her gender well enough to become one of the beer-drinking boys in Falls City and is even convincing enough to gain the love and affection of a local girl. Upon the eventual discovery of her true gender, two men who were, just two days earlier, questioned by the county sheriff for the rape of Teena, kill her and the owner of the house where she was staying. An innocent bystander fell victim to the murderers simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A nine-month baby is left as the sole survivor, spared simply because he would not be able to identify the suspects. Two local men, John Lotter and Tom Nissen were later arrested, and Nissen confessed to the murders, fingering Lotter as the triggerman. Both are serving life sentences. Lotter has not admitted to his own involvement and is currently exercising his rights to appeals. Muska and Olafsdottir provide a distinct slant to the film, offering evidence that the murderers simply fell victim to the rampant homophobia that began to circulate through Falls City. My contention is that Lotter and Nissen are victims of their own ignorance (derivative of the verb "to ignore") that is a common trait of citizens of small conservative American towns. Just look to Laramie Wyoming to see the power that fear of the unwelcome can hold over a community. We see a similar collective mentality in Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills where a small town convicted three suspects based solely on complete hearsay, simply because of the town’s fear of outside, progressive attitudes. While it’s the subject matter that gives the film its impact, the power of the film could certainly have been enhanced by a slicker production. It seems a bit amateurish and choppy, kind of like something I would put together using iMovie on my Mac. It lacks a recurring narrative theme that would help tie together all the seemingly disconnected pieces. This doesn’t mean that the message of The Brandon Teena Story should be discounted. Small towns are not immune to the hatred, ignorance and violence that most often plague larger cities. The Brandon Teena Story is a tragic true-life love story with real-world love and real-world hate. The film doesn’t offer a solution, it only presents a cause. Even with all of its technical flaws, it is a significant piece of work that carries a grim and sorrowful message. We don’t come away with much consolation, knowing that hatred will continue and that tolerance of diversity is a huge burden to overcome...even in a small town. Frank Wilkins Screen formats: Full Screen 1.33:1
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