This is a film that will challenge your definition of gender and redefine the meaning of love. The true life story of Calpernia Addams and her successful yet tragic relationship with the soldier who fell in love with her, Barry Winchell. First , this is one of the best films I have ever seen. Originally made for HBO it could easily have made the big screen. Frank Pierson directs with a gentle hand and delivers poetry to vehicle that could have been awkward in anothers hands. Ron Nyswaner's script is sharp and deep so Pierson is well backed. 

The cast is killer . Troy Garity delivers a surprisingly subtle portrayal of the soldier Barry Winchell. Barry is not an intellectual but far more emotionally intelligent than those around him. He falls in love with an exotic transsexual dancer Calpernia Addams for all the reasons a man usually does for any woman. She is smart , beautiful and underneath the dancers facade a true woman who yearns for someone to care for.

Lee Pace who plays Calpernia faced a huge challenge in that he really is a man but he is so powerful an actor that it takes only moments to convince you the heart of this character is truly a woman's. A classically trained actor Pace finds a way to give Calpernia both the accurate movement of a woman yet the fragile heart of a romantic in danger . I hope that Paces future is not stunted by this role because after delivering this kind of performance it will be really hard to top it. Pace manifests Calpernia so well it defies his physical reality . That feat is beyond most Hollywood actors period. 

Added to the mix is the macho soldier named Justin Fisher who befriends Barry only to become the cause of his demise. . A hardcore soldier who drugs himself to keep up with the demands of being the best of the best Fisher is himself both a homophobe , jealous competitor for Barry's attention and dangerously loose cannon . Played by Shawn Hatosy the performance is pretty stunning. I swear I have known guys like this in my life. Shawn delivers Fisher with incredible rawness and realism. A macho redneck with disturbing secrets. You will hate Fisher and yet pity how pathetic he is as a human being he is . Brilliant work. Very rare. Hatosy gives a perfect delivery. 

Last is the new arrival Calvin Glover , a wet behind the ears soldier that Fisher easily dupes into carrying out his vengeance against Barry. Played by Philip Eddolls the team of Fisher and Glover fits perfectly . Fisher the power to dominate and Glover his easily manipulated puppet. Too stupid to even grasp the seriousness of his crime Glover is someone you will recognize . Eddolls doesn't hold back anything in trying to give us Glovers small man complex. 

If you are homophobic at all you will probably not like this movie but if you believe that love transcends the physical genders we are given you will be moved. Despite finding this DVD in the "gay " section ofthis is truly love story between a man and a woman. Well worth watching. A+
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