Soldier's Girl (2003) (TV)

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writer (WGA):

Ron Nyswaner (written by)

Release Date:

31 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She was the only man he ever loved.

Plot:

The true story of a young soldier beaten to death for falling in love with a transgendered nightclub performer. |

Plot Keywords:

What Happened To Epilogue | Gay Interest | Hate Crime | Transgender | Discrimination

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Troy Garity	...	Barry Winchell
Lee Pace	...	Calpernia Addams / Scottie
Andre Braugher	...	Sergeant Carlos Diaz
Shawn Hatosy	...	Justin Fisher
Philip Eddolls	...	Calvin Glover
Merwin Mondesir	...	Henry Millens
Dan Petronijevic	...	Collin Baker (as Daniel Petronijevic)
Mike Realba	...	Edgar Martinez
Jeanie Calleja	...	Ashley Martinez
Barclay Hope	...	Sergeant Howard Paxton
Tulsi Balram	...	Ginger
Vince Corazza	...	Lester
Kathryn Zenna	...	Female guard
Kent Staines	...	Mistress of Ceremonies
Sofonda	...	Midnight Express

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, a scene of strong violence and language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Bachrach/Gottlieb Productions

Trivia:

The patch worn on the shoulder of every soldier in the film is not the patch of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The only time the actual 101st patch is shown is during the stock footage of soldiers marching across the parade ground at Ft Campbell. The patch can be seen on the large banner.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Pvt. Barry Winchell reports to SSG Diaz he is told by Diaz that he will be assigned as the assistant gunner for the 40mm grenade launcher. This could be a reference to the Mk-19 40mm belt fed grenade launcher. However, we later see Pvt Winchell carrying an M-203 40mm grenade launcher. The M-203 is not a crew served weapon, it is operated by a single soldier and therefore doesn't need an assistant to operate it.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mistress of Ceremonies: Ladies and gentlemen, and all of the rest of you... Welcome to the Miss Tennessee Entertainer of the Year Pageant.
[applause]
Mistress of Ceremonies: If you take a girl home tonight, and you find that her clitoris is just a touch too prominent and her ovaries are hanging really low, you might have ended up with one of our contestants.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Soldiers' Secrets (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Consequences of Falling

Good, dare I say important, film with no Army adviser in sight

Overall well worth watching. It does have the standard host of Army reality errors -- calling NCOs sir, wearing hats indoors when not bearing weapons, calling a Sergeant Major "sarge," etc. Curiously, having extremely defective people (like the nut with the bat) in the Army, especially combat arms, is NOT an error. When I was a tanker in the late 80s, I saw America's finest, most giving, young men. I also saw a lot of mutants that wouldn't make it on the outside. At that time 90%+ of both types were rabidly homophobic. I doubt much has changed. Because of that, I find it a bit difficult to buy that the main character wouldn't hide his affair much better than the movie depicted. Then again, things did go terribly wrong. Even though I'm a strong supporter of the military, when "don't ask, don't tell" was created, I thought that a gay person must be insane to want to go into the service. Clearly, little has changed.