Call it too much fuel to the fire in a misguided effort to bring home the tragedy of gay hate crimes.
Hate Crime (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:1
Rotten:16
Average Rating:4.1/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some violence, language and sexual content
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Mar 16, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Director Tommy Stovall's provocative indie thriller HATE CRIME raises complex moral questions about free speech, intolerance, and vengeance through the harrowing story of a gay man (Seth Peterson)... Director Tommy Stovall's provocative indie thriller HATE CRIME raises complex moral questions about free speech, intolerance, and vengeance through the harrowing story of a gay man (Seth Peterson) whose lover is found beaten to death in a horrible case of gay-bashing instigated by the hateful rhetoric of a fundamentalist Christian preacher (Bruce Davison, LONGTIME COMPANION). [More]
Starring: Seth Peterson, Bruce Davison, Chad E. Donella, Giancarlo Esposito
Starring: Seth Peterson, Bruce Davison, Chad E. Donella, Giancarlo Esposito, Cindy Pickett, Lin Shaye, Brian J. Smith, Susan Blakely
Director: Tommy Stovall
Director: Tommy Stovall
Studio: Pasidg Productions
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Reviews for Hate Crime
deserves praise, even the political viewpoints lack any subtlety whatsoever.
First-time director Stovall renders all with the kitchen-lit, squarely composed aesthetic of timid prime-time TV, and his moral schema is no less ordinary.
An intelligent, well-acted, tense drama that is challenging in its moral complexity.
One day, a truly original screenplay will be written in which churchgoing, beer-drinking Southerners will be portrayed as something other than evil hypocrites.
The film never rises above its cry now-avenge later Lifetime Channel sensibilities.
The portrait of the Boyds is painted by Tommy Stovall, the film's writer and director, with such broad and venomous strokes that if the gay characters had been portrayed in the same way, the film would rightly be seen as bigoted.
It takes a turn toward vigilante justice, Texas-style, where everybody has a gun. They trade a hate crime for a crime of hate, and that mixed message overshadows the potential of this film.
... a flawed film that frequently tries to rise above standard TV dramas of the week.
A well-meaning but hopelessly stilted melodrama, Hate Crime sacrifices good intentions with its mediocrity of execution.
What is not entirely clear is what Hate Crime adds to the equation that hasn't been done before.
On the surface, Hate Crime may seem like a movie about violence rooted in religious bigotry, but underneath it's a poorly disguised argument for vigilantism.
When the plot gets lost in irrational revenge fantasies, you'll wish you had stayed home watching reruns.
While Stovall's study of hate crimes is well acted, and with the right intentions, it can never get off the ground and feel like a unique dissection, and still comes off as an episode of a cop show in the end.
First-time Sedona filmmaker Tommy Stovall can't bear to part with certain scenes, even if they lengthen his film and send the story in circles.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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