Beyond Hatred

In this unsettling but ultimately hopeful documentary, a family tries to make sense of tragedy and come to terms with their grief and hatred after their gay son is murdered by a trio of skinheads. The film, which is set two years after the incident, follows the young man’s family as they talk with their lawyers, and each other, in the days leading up to the trial of the accused attackers, reflect on the trial itself and finally come to forgive those who brought such pain into their lives. Director Olivier Meyrou films it all in classic verite style, drawing us in by letting the moments play out as if they were scenes in a narrative film. The results are compelling and almost poetic—there’s more intimacy in this than in most of the indie films now coming out of Hollywood—while the message of redemption and forgiveness is one that is sorely needed in today’s unsettling days of disconnect within the gay community. This is truly a marvelous film. Extras: Sadly, none, which is why the DVD only gets a B+.
—Ken Knox

Cover

In this pulpy mess, Valerie Maas (Aunjanue Ellis) is a church-going wife and mother, trying to clear herself of a murder charge. Through a series of flashbacks, Valerie reveals how she discovered her husband’s affair—he’s on the Down Low, dontcha know—that lead to the murder she is accused of committing. Yet Valerie maintains her innocence as she recounts several scenes that she could not have possibly witnessed first hand. These narrative flaws, along with contrived dialogue and many hammy performances, hinder what could have been a strong, cautionary tale. Director Bill Duke’s well-intentioned film stresses the importance of love, pride and trust—and these themes bear repeating. Alas, Cover becomes a crude B-movie, complete with unintentionally funny car accidents and over-the-top rage scenes. Although it tries to do too much—and not much of it well—the film is hardly uninteresting. Extras: None. C-
—Gary M. Kramer

I’m Not There

Whether or not you like filmmaker Todd Haynes, you gotta admit one thing: He’s certainly daring. His unconventional “biopic” of folksinger Bob Dylan is the stuff of curiosity: Watch as several different actors inhabit the “essence” of Dylan in a seeming randomly edited patchwork of documentary and narrative storytelling that, despite being entertaining, ultimately reveals very little about its subject. There are other problems, too: A plot featuring the late Heath Ledger as an actor whose career trajectory mirrors that of Dylan seems glaringly out of place, while Christian Bale is woefully underused as Jack Rollins, one of the many incarnations of Dylan that are used as metaphors for the real person’s life. Still, Cate Blanchett’s Oscar-nominated performance as Jude Quinn is a tour de force of acting showmanship, and Haynes’ originality as a director is never more apparent than it is in this confounding but thrilling mess of a movie. Extras: Commentary by Haynes, on-screen song lyrics, deleted scenes and outtakes, actor auditions, soundtrack featurette, footage from the film’s premiere, a “Dylanography” and more. B+
—K.K.