Soldier's Girl

There's nothing the least bit titillating about this retelling of the true story of army private Barry Winchell, who was murdered in 1999 by a fellow soldier over disapproval of Winchell's relationship with a transgendered nightclub performer named Calpernia Addams. Half angry, raging against the institutionalized machismo of the armed forces, and half tender, director Frank Pierson's Showtime original movie Soldier's Girl is a compassionate and seductive film that refuses to box up human sexuality into neat categories, finding terms such as "gay" and "straight" to be too confining. Troy Garity, who plays Winchell, is a rarity among young actors today: passionate, with a slightly cocky edge that keeps him from becoming too earnestly ingratiating, his Winchell is an honest and nervous creation. As Addams, newcomer Lee Pace (a handsome guy playing a beautiful woman) evokes an emotionally fragile presence as a person only halfway through her physical transformation. Together, Garity and Pace are just about the most romantic couple I've seen onscreen in a good while, and their relationship is thoroughly enjoyable until its destroyed by the ignorant and savage actions of homophobes. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)