The life and legacy of Matt Shepard (second from right) is celebrated by his friends and family in documentary
MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE (Michele Josue, 2014)
AMC Empire 25
234 West 42nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Opens Friday, February 6
212-398-2597
www.mattshepardisafriendofmine.com
www.amctheatres.com
A ghost hangs over every shot of Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine, the spirit of a young man whose life was cut short in senseless, brutal violence. On October 6, 1998, twenty-one-year-old Matthew Wayne Shepard was mercilessly beaten by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson and died in the hospital less than a week later, a tragic victim of homophobia. Shepard’s beating and death became front-page news not just in his home state of Wyoming but around the world, ultimately leading to hate crimes legislation including, in 2009, the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The death of Matthew Wayne Shepard sharpened focus on homophobia and crimes of hate, but in 2010 a group of his friends, led by filmmaker Michele Josue and her husband, Liam McNiff, set out to tell the story of the person they knew simply as Matt. “I miss my friend, and I’m not ready to let him go,” Josue says at the beginning of her debut feature, Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine. Josue meets with Shepard’s parents, Judy and Dennis, who talk about what Matt was like as a child and how they learned about his sexual preference; such school friends as Zeina Barkawi, Nikki Pearson, Tim Galles, and Kate Chill, who discuss their close bonds with Matt at schools in Wyoming and Switzerland; his teacher Cynthia Whisenant and guidance counselor Walt Boulden, who shed more light on his character; and others who knew Matt more peripherally, including the undersheriff who handled the case as well as the bartender who was working the fateful night Matt met up with McKinney and Henderson. Josue also delves into a horrific event that happened to Matt in Morocco, something that changed him drastically. The sentimental film includes never-before-seen home movies, photographs, and diary entries that paint a fascinating portrait of a small, skinny kid whose life touched so many.
As expected, the award-winning film festival favorite is overly worshipful of Shepard, even as it does get into some of his demons, especially near the end. Although it doesn’t directly address any of the Matthew Shepard conspiracies out there — in particular, The Book of Matt, in which journalist Stephen Jimenez offers a different theory of why Shepard was beaten and killed — the film feels very much like a defense against those who question the story. Many scenes are also far too personal and intimate, with friends and family members sharing thoughts and worries that are best saved for therapy sessions as they process their grief and guilt on camera. Even so, Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine is a powerful, important document of the care and love that emanated from Matt Shepard, both in life and in death.