MiniReview: "Stonewall" (1995 film)

What is it?

A 1995 British-American independent film directed by Nigel Finch.

Would it be about the Stonewall uprising, by any chance?

Yes. But also about life in and around the Stonewall Innn in the days and weeks before the June 1969 riots. The actual riot only takes up the last few minutes of the film.

But it’s not a documentary?

No, although it does (unusually for a fictional film) include some documentary footage at the beginning.

How does it do with marrying fictional storylines with actual events? Not always easy to do well. (I still shudder at the memory of that dreadful film Titanic.)

It does very well, I’d say. The film is based on a book about Stonewall by the historian Martin Duberman, and one gets the impression that it’s faithful to the spirit of the time and place. What I found really interesting was that the film shows the conflict at the time within the LGBTQ community. On the one hand, you have the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, who are keen to present a respectable image of gay folks, but then there are the trans people who frequent the Stonewall, who don’t really have the option of appearing “respectable” in a heteronormative way, and don’t want to. The screenplay cleverly focuses on a young man (played by Frederick Weller, whom one could happily gaze on for a very long time) who comes to NYC to live his gay life and finds himself straddling the two different approaches to gay rights (being tolerated versus being proud, if I can put it that way) as he becomes attracted to Ethan, a gay man who believes in being discreet about his sexuality, and La Miranda (played by the excellent Guillermo Díaz), a cross-dressing sex worker.

Apart from the historical elements, though, does the film work as a film—as drama?

Yes. There are some plot elements that seem contrived to fit into conventions of popular cinema (including violence preceding the actual riot that makes the riot come across as anticlimactic). And it’s a bit simplistic in wanting to attribute the riots to Judy Garland having just died. But it’s the nature of cinema to simplify large historical events. What really impressed me was the way the film touched on so many aspects of queer lives, and of being queer. There's a segment at Fire Island, and insights into the fascinating culture and community of trans sex workers.

Stars?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and give it two. In fact, this is a very good, not really a great, film. But the story it tells is so important, and it reveals so many facets of queer history, that it’s something of a milestone, I think. It even has some musical numbers! Definitely one to see.