Prayers for Bobby

Very touching. It's the first movie in awhile that's gotten me teary-eyed. For a made-for-television movie, it's pretty well-made and acted, albeit about as melodramatic as a Lifetime movie.

Dorastanie to czas wielu dylematow, setki pytan: kim chce byc, co chce robic dalej itp. Nasz bohater Bobby to niezwykle wrazliwy dzieciak kocha brata i siostry, a takze swoja niezwykle religijna matke. Jednak Bobby odkrywa, ze jest homoseksualista, a wydarzenia po tym pokazuja jak rodzina moze pomoc lub tez nie pomoc. Film niezwykle poruszajacy, zmusil mnie do niesamowitej refleksji.

This film has good intentions and I know it's based on a true story so it seems churlish to criticise it. But the first half of this film is so cliched: from the dialogue to the reactions of each character after the suicide. The older brother wailing on his knees on the football field? Puh-lease. But the second half of the film turns it around somewhat. Mary's journey from intolerant, anti-gay Christian to crusader for gay rights was fascinating and should have had more attention devoted to it.

"You weren't with homosexuals, were you?" Despite the weaknesses of the writing--and I lived through exactly that time, complete with religious fanaticism--everything in this could have plausibly happened or been said. Sigourney Weaver is fantastic (especially her speech at the end), and Henry Czerny--an underrated actor--is excellent. In the end, though, it's a Lifetime movie, so, as such, is going to have its melodramatic elements. Still, maybe the best one I've seen.

C’est un produit pour la télé et certains aspects sont gênants, à commencer par ce scénario trop rapide. Le passage de la mère, d’abord religieuse fanatique et intolérante, à militante engagée pour les homo, se fait en un claquement de doigts, et ce raccourci illustre bien toutes les transitions maladroites du film. Reste Sigourney Weaver qui porte le film et on n’a qu’une envie, prendre Bobby dans nos bras. Oui, j’ai pleuré comme tout le monde, non ?

I really love how this movie and the message in it. I don't think it's primarily about LGBT+, but more of how a mother's love and support should always be unconditional. Mary Griffith reminded me of my own mother so it really touched me to the core + extra points because it's based on a true story. The only thing I didn't vibe with was the pace, but maybe that's because I'm not used to watching movies but rather shows/series.

Another beautiful story wasted on mediocre director. The film does a poor job of honoring this young man and his family.

It's a Lifetime movie, and as a result has a script of a Lifetime movie - big issue melodrama basically, with a preference towards overly pat monologues because monologues are cheap. But Russell Mulcahy is an inspired choice to direct, since as a horror guy he knows how to get the most out of no budget - and he uses a ton of horror editing tricks and filming techniques to illustrate emotional states. My score isn't because it's good, but because it's as good as it could be.

-12.12.2013 Bir sinema filmi kadar kaliteli ve özverili bir televizyon filmi. Üstüne söylenecek fazla şey yok. -14.07.2014 7 ay sonra yeniden Orlando'da işten geldiğimde parça parça bir kaç günde izledim. 90 olan puanım artık 95.

This is quite good. The only bad thing about it is how much it made me cry.