In 1998, news broke that a young male was found beaten and nearly dead, tied to a fence in rural Wyoming. That person was 21-year-old Matt Shepard, who would later succumb to his fatal injuries, but not without leaving a lasting impression on the world at large. Matt was targeted because he was gay, and his attack is still considered one of the worst hate crimes in American history. The documentary Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine is an intimate documentary and look at the life of the person we’ve come to know only through newspaper headlines, made by Shepard’s friend and first-time director, Michele Josue.
The purpose for making the documentary is to share the “real” Matt Shepard with the world who never had the privilege of getting to know him. We come to understand– through archival footage, never-before-seen photos and friends interviews– that Matt was your average kid, the oldest son to Dennis and Judy Shepard in a family of four. The Shepards relocated to Saudi Arabia for Dennis’s job where Matt attended The American School in Switzerland and ended up befriending the director, Michele. It’s this era of Shepard’s life when we as the audience get to learn more about him. Josue reveals that on a school trip to Morocco, Matt was raped by six men in a dark alley and was never the same after that. That incident is shared, among other previously unknown struggles that lead up to the fatal event in 1998.
This is a story to enlighten the audience about the “real” Matt Shepard– but how are we supposed to get to know Matt when the director makes it too much about herself?
First hand accounts from Matt’s friends and family describe a very normal kid who was struggling with finding himself, a feeling we can all identify with. One of the better interviews in the film comes from a priest who knew Matt. He talks candidly about the attackers, saying that no matter how much hate there is in our hearts towards the assailants, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, we must remember that they too are children of God and deserve our sympathy. Forgiveness seems to be a difficult concept for Josue to grasp, as she breaks down during the interview and starts crying, questioning how somebody who did such a terrible thing could possibly be “forgiven.” The scene is tension filled, and extremely real.
It is evident from the very beginning of the film that this is an extremely personal project for Josue, so much so that she does not detach from the story to focus on the bigger picture. Rather, she injects herself into every interview and scene and is the film’s biggest distraction. At times, it is uncomfortable to watch her ask her interviewees a question while she sits across from them and cries. It would have been an emotional moment if it happened once, or maybe twice, but this happens every time. It would have better served the film to cut Josue’s screen time down (or completely), especially during the interviews, because as she states in the beginning of the film, this is a story to enlighten the audience about the “real” Matt Shepard– but how are we supposed to get to know Matt when the director makes it too much about herself?
If you can look past those distractions, the film itself runs at a steady pace and keeps our interest. Although the montage of Josue walking near the field where Shepard’s body was found seems amateur and redundant, but there was one special moment at the end that brings a tear to the eye, when Matt’s dad reads a letter he penned to his deceased son. He talks about his favorite memories with his first-born and his gratefulness that God was watching over him while he lay alone in that Wyoming field. It is a hard scene to get through without getting emotional and feeling extreme sympathy for the Shepards and their friends.
Gay rights is a hot button issue in America that continues to be a struggle for many, and the hope is that by watching this film, one may find more tolerance and acceptance in their hearts. While I completely agree and support this mission and applaud Josue for her efforts, which must have been an extremely cathartic project for her, this film didn’t reach its full potential in storytelling or effect. In any case, Matt Shepard will never be forgotten; his story continues to affect people today, even 17 years later.
