The biggest thing I've always admired about Glenn Close (other than the fact that she is the Barbara Stanwyck of the modern cinema) is her determination and courage to play roles that mean something to her, about causes she supports and women that she admires. While there is a slight resemblance to the real Margarethe Cammermeyer (nobody else could possibly play her), you get the sense that the character was slightly feminized simply for public consumption and acceptance, taking away most lesbian stereotypes yet never skirting past who Close and her partner Judy Davis are. Presented rather slovenly and uncaring about glamor, Davis's Diana is a modern version of George Sand whom Davis brilliantly portrayed in "Impromptu". So this becomes more than TV's Judy Garland meets Broadway's Norma Desmond and a lot deeper than the generic themes suggest.
A commanding and well respected officer, Close goes onto be promoted to a top nurse position at a military hospital and all is going well as her relationship with Davis progresses. The stereotype that lesbians are all man hating feminists completely is nullified here as Close shows her love for her sons and her rather old fashioned cold father, and Close shows the vulnerability of a daughter who only wanted to hear once that he was proud of her. Cammermeyer is put through the grill of explaining her lesbianism when going for a top secret promotion in the national guard, and once this is exposed, it's only a matter of time before it comes back to haunt her.
This isn't a course in lesbianism 101 or an ultra liberal statement about gays in the military, but one woman's story of fighting for her rights, exposing the absurdity of certain military regulations, and the fact that the regulation against homosexuality started in 1982 gives a hysterical slam to the Reagen administration. You can't help but root for Cammermeyer to win and watch it all play out. Close and Davis aren't allowed to play the intimacy and affection of their love and that is a shame, but only a minor one. The film makes its point and draws you in, and as a result becomes one of the most important TV movies ever made.
A commanding and well respected officer, Close goes onto be promoted to a top nurse position at a military hospital and all is going well as her relationship with Davis progresses. The stereotype that lesbians are all man hating feminists completely is nullified here as Close shows her love for her sons and her rather old fashioned cold father, and Close shows the vulnerability of a daughter who only wanted to hear once that he was proud of her. Cammermeyer is put through the grill of explaining her lesbianism when going for a top secret promotion in the national guard, and once this is exposed, it's only a matter of time before it comes back to haunt her.
This isn't a course in lesbianism 101 or an ultra liberal statement about gays in the military, but one woman's story of fighting for her rights, exposing the absurdity of certain military regulations, and the fact that the regulation against homosexuality started in 1982 gives a hysterical slam to the Reagen administration. You can't help but root for Cammermeyer to win and watch it all play out. Close and Davis aren't allowed to play the intimacy and affection of their love and that is a shame, but only a minor one. The film makes its point and draws you in, and as a result becomes one of the most important TV movies ever made.