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Released by: Magnolia Films
Released on: 01/19/2009
Director: Kirby Dick
Year: 2009
Cast: Various
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The Movie:
Documentarian Kirby Dick's 2009 film Outrage begins with this statement: “There exists a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy to keep gay and lesbian politicians as closeted as possible. This conspiracy is so powerful the media will not cover it, even though it profoundly harms many Americans. This film is about politicians who live in the closet, those who have escaped it, and the people who work to end its tyranny.†With this bold statement the film sets the stage for the ninety minutes to come and effectively lets you know that its bias is clear and that impartiality is being thrown out the window, or, if you prefer, locked in a closet.
Despite the fact that the film is obviously (and openly) slanted, however, Dick's film is an interesting and revealing picture. By interviewing openly gay former and current politicians as well as a multitude of activists, lobbyists and media types the movie makes some very interesting points, the principal focus being essentially that by closeting their sexuality and often times voting against gay issues, they're not only living a lie but actually hurting some of their constituents. The film points at Republicans more than Democrats but doesn't necessarily take a partisan stance in that regard, but it does wear its political leanings plainly and proudly on its sleeve.
The film covers well known and bizarre cases such as Idaho Senator Larry Craig, a man who is very vocal about his dislike of 'gay issues' (most of which boil down to simple equal rights issues when you get to the core of the matter) and who was arrested for propositioning a man for sex in a airport bathroom. James McGreevey, the former Governor of New Jersey who had an affair with another man behind his wife's back and later came out of the closet and resigned from office is on hand to talk about his experiences and over his input, as is his former wife. Other notable politicians such as Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, and Jim Kolbe appear in the film to offer insight.
Gay blogger Michael Rogers, who runs a website dedicated to outing closeted gay politicians gets a lot of screen time here while other activists like Elizabeth Birch of the Human Rights Campaign, Patrick Guerriero of the Log Cabin Republicans, Larry Kramer of Act-Up, Atlantic writer Andrew Sullivan and writer/radio talk show host Michelangelo Signorile also appear in the film. All involved seem united in their belief that it will only help the issues they're affected by if gay politicians are forced out of the closet, and there's probably a lot of truth to that. Where the film doesn't tread is on the opposite side of that spectrum - should someone have the right to make someone else's sexual orientation a matter of public record if they don't want them to? Granted, these people are elected to public office and as such are trusted with serving their constituents regardless of who they sleep with in the privacy of their own homes, so this has to be looked at in a different light but it still treads an interesting moral ground.
The film, when it played theatrically in 2009, came under a fair bit of criticism for playing less like an actual documentary than a gossip piece and there certainly are aspects of that. Anonymous figures speak from the shadows about their trysts with prominent politicians but if they're not going to go on record by revealing their identities can we trust them? Can you take someone at face value when you can't see their face? The picture spends a lot of time discussing the personal life of prominent Florida GOP Governor Charlie Crist, suggesting that his marriage is nothing more than a beard meant to further his political career. The film stops short of claiming it as a fact, as there's no way to really solidify this as no one will go on record and claim that they know for sure Crist is gay, but it does present a fair bit of evidence to back that up, even if much of it is circumstantial. Crist has proven to be vehemently anti-gay with his politics and his voting record, as have many of the politicians focused on by this piece.
Getting back to that opening statement, however… the film doesn't really focus on the conspiracy and media issues that it throws in your face in the beginning. It does cover a couple of censorship issues, such as CNN's decision to conveniently trim an interview Larry King did with Bill Maher where he names a name or two, but aside from that it shows how the gay press is working hard to cover these stories rather than how the traditional media is sweeping it under the rug. That doesn't mean these issues aren't real or that they don't matter, it simply means that the film does a lousy job of elaborating on the conspiracy it states is so rampant.
Outrage is an interesting film and if nothing else, it makes you think. For that reason, it's a pretty important piece of filmmaking. Are its accusations sound? Only those involved personally know for sure, but it makes some good cases and by doing so raises a lot of issues that are important to a lot of people to the surface. The gloves are off and the film pulls no punches as it takes well aimed shots at everyone from easy targets like Bush and Cheney to political figures of yesterday like New York City mayor Ed Koch - a man who has yet to deny on public record the accusations levied against him in this picture.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Outrage arrives on DVD in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Generally, the image quality is pretty strong here, even if it's not been flagged for progressive scan playback. Skin tones look good, detail is fine and there are no problems with mpeg compression artifacts or noticeable edge enhancement. Some shimmering is apparent here and there and a few scenes shot outside look a bit soft, likely because of the lighting, but aside from that there's nothing to really complain about here. Will the visuals floor you? No, but movie looks pretty good on DVD. Some of the archival clips are a bit worse for wear, but you can't really fault anyone for that.
Audio options are provided in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with optional subtitles in Spanish only. The 5.1 track spreads the score around and plays a bit with some of the ambient noise in the background of the movie but it's hardly bombastic. Regardless, it's clean, clear and plenty easy to follow. There are no problems with hiss or distortion to report and the levels are all well balanced.
The extras start off with a commentary track from Kirby Dick who is joined by producer Amy Ziering. It's an interesting discussion about why Dick felt he needed to make this film, how he got the various participants involved in the picture to participate and about some of the reactions that the picture has gotten. Dick and a few others involved in the picture also participate in a Q&A Session held at the film's Tribecca Film Festival Screening while Dick flies solo in a second Q&A Session held at a Washington D.C. screening. They cover some of the same ground but there's enough original information in each of these extras to make them worth skimming trough.
There are also three deleted scenes included here (one of which is an interesting bit where Michael Rogers attends a blogger's convention where Hillary Clinton is speaking) which are worth seeing. Rounding out the extras is a tribute to Roger McFarlane, one of the interviewees from the film, who took his own life in 2009 after dealing with health problems. Menus and chapter selection are also included. Previews for a few other Magnolia releases play before you get to the main menu screen.
The Final Word:
While hardly impartial, Outrage has a lot of very good points to make and it does so in often times pretty convincing fashion. How much you get out of this will likely depend on your own personal politics but that doesn't change the fact that even if this isn't in the least bit unbiased, it's still an interesting and though provoking piece of work. Magnolia has done a fine job in the A/V department and provided a solid array of extra features as well.