Soldier’s Girl (2003, R)

*Disclaimer: Although I do mention it in my review, it bears repeating more emphatically at the top. As excellent as his performance is, it isn’t right that Lee Pace was cast as Callie. It was a missed opportunity for a trans actress to play a leading role, and even though the film does a lot of things right, this is a wrong call that can’t be overlooked.*

 

Based on an awful true story, this is a harrowing TV movie with a heart-wrenching ending.  I’m not gonna lie – it’s hard to watch.  That said, it’s also an incredibly well-made film, and the culminating tragedy, as ugly as it is, can’t sour the lovely thread of romance that comes before it.

Barry Winchell, a private in the 101^st Airborne, has just arrived at the camp where he’ll be stationed.  The demands are punishing, and he faces them with ragged determination.  On an evening out with his army buddies, he meets Calpernia Addams, a trans woman who performs at a drag club.  Barry is immediately taken with Callie; the two begin a shy, tender relationship.  As they get more involved with one another, rumors about Barry’s orientation threaten his standing in the army, and homo- and transphobia on the base threaten his safety.

As I said, the heart of this film is the romance between Barry and Callie, and it’s done beautifully.  Callie’s gender identity is a big factor – it’s what has her at first in denial that Barry is actually interested in her, it informs their intimacy, and you won’t find too many movie romances that include the word “vaginoplasty” – but I love how, at its roots, their relationship isn’t “about” that.  For much of the film, it plays out so quietly and gently, touching on the new ground Barry is exploring but putting greater emphasis on the soulful bond between them.  There’s bashful flirting, Barry treats Callie like a lady, and as their relationship progresses, they both support and push each other.

Equally well done, but much more difficult to see, is the growing suspicion and hostility Barry faces at the camp.  The tension builds slowly but inexorably.  Some of the guys in Barry’s unit are infected with the poison, Barry’s anxiety at his drill sergeant’s off-the-books witch hunt for secret homosexuals is palpable (never mind that Barry isn’t, in fact, gay,) and try as he might, he can’t keep his fears out of his relationship with Callie.  The stakes here are so high, and your heart breaks for Barry as he endures taunts, threats, and worse from the fellow soldiers trying to kick the closet door down.

This is the first time I’ve watched Soldier’s Girl since becoming more involved in the LGBTQ community.  The cis-actor-playing-trans thing definitely bothers me more now, but I stand by my assertion that Lee Pace does a phenomenal job as Callie (I’d hope that, if they were making the film today, Callie would be played by a trans actress, but it’s definitely not a sure thing – in the last 12 years, not as much has changed for trans performers as it should have.)  I adore how soft and heartfelt she is in love, and I like the way she uses her drag queen acting skills to create a self-assured façade when she feels vulnerable.  As Barry, Troy Garity is equally great.  I really like his earnestness; he pursues Callie without handwringing about his orientation, and despite the homophobia and toxic masculinity of his environment, I love the moments where he can let his guard down enough to be open about his feelings, good or bad.

Warnings

Language (including some ugly hate speech,) drinking, smoking, sexual content (including a few tamely-shot sex scenes,) and violence (including one incredibly intense scene.)

Top Five Roles: Lee Pace

*Disclaimer: I paid lip service to this in the write-up, but it should have been said more strongly. Lee Pace shouldn’t have played either Calpernia in Soldier’s Girl or Roy in The Fall. His talent doesn’t negate the fact that a trans actress and a disabled actor should have been cast in these roles and lost opportunities because Lee Pace was cast instead.*

I was reminded of how much I enjoy Lee Pace’s work when he guest-starred on an episode of The Mindy Project earlier this season.  He can be a bit hampered by the role he plays or the project he’s in – I can’t really connect with his character Joe on Halt and Catch Fire, and while I the writing doesn’t do him many favors, I know he’s capable of better.  However, in the right parts, he’s just terrific.  Here are my favorites from Lee Pace.

Calpernia Addams, Soldier’s Girl

In the years since I saw this film, I’ve learned more about the issue of cisgender actors playing trans roles, and I know the part rightly should’ve gone to a trans performer, but Pace is still incredible.  Calpernia, a nightclub performer, is utterly winning and sympathetic, reaching for love in a world that says she can’t have it.  Every emotion, from joy to despair, is beautifully wrought.  I also love how unaffected the performance is; men playing trans women tend to do “impressions” of women that feel put-on, but Calpernia simply is who she is.  I appreciate that.

Aaron Tyler, Wonderfalls

This is the lesser of Pace’s two Bryan Fuller roles, but it’s still great fun.  Aaron’s a bit pretentious, a bit shiftless, a bit irritating, a bit judgmental, and an absolute riot.  Whether he’s giving lectures with salt-and-pepper shakers, smuggling the housekeeper back from Canada, or desperately denying his existential crisis, he’s a stitch.  He gets taken down plenty of pegs over the series, and despite his frequent frustration with her, he’s wonderfully loyal to Jaye.

Roy Walker, The Fall

Another problematic character for Pace, since we meet former stuntman Roy in the hospital after the accident that paralyzed him.  Because he spends most of his time in bed, though, the crip-face isn’t as glaring.  At any rate, Roy’s draw is his relationship with Alexandria, the hospitalized young girl who befriends him.  By telling her a fantastical tale, he hopes to trick her into getting him a lethal dose of pills, and he’s caring, surly, sympathetic, and cunning as the plot demands.

Ned, Pushing Daisies

The first role I saw Pace in, and the reason I’ll love him forever.  Pace is just spectacular as the shy piemaker who wakes the dead with the touch of his finger.  Ned’s heartbreak is gutting, his reticent happiness is effervescent, his bolder moments are enormously heartening, and he’s usually hilarious in-between.  From his line readings to his body language, he’s pitch perfect.

Thranduil, The Hobbit

I don’t have any great love for the Hobbit trilogy, but Pace’s Thranduil is one of its consistently great elements.  The icy Elvish king is an imperious isolationist, every inch the haughty immortal who thinks he knows best.  He feels truly other-worldly in a way that few in the series do, and even though Pace is two years younger than Orlando Bloom, I totally buy him as Legolas’s dad.