The policy of "Don't Ask..." was in effect when the movie was conceived -- and it serves as a time capsule of the ramification of that policy. In the event that a gay man is able to become a member of the armed forces, he has to contend with any number of abuses that are heaped up upon him in the name of discrimination. In the case of this film, it is doubled as the lead character is not only gay, but also black.
The issue at heart is whether gay people are an asset to the military; for some reason, it was never a significant issue until recently, with the advent of Desert Storm. With the passage of the policy, the military has no right to refuse a gay person, which therefore leaves the gay man to become a pariah in his own platoon. Here, he is subject to a number of abuses by the rest of the squad, as he is treated with disdain by the Commanding Officer (who coincidentally is also black) and is beaten up by his fellow recruits, and has to fight back to be able to achieve a level of respect.
Even though some of the film is somewhat "by the numbers," and has a character who is Muslim and therefore is also discriminated against, the film never resorts to cheap sentimentality; the Marine recruit never reconciles with his mother, who rejects him for being gay, which would be an absolute requirement in a Hollywood-ized version. He also is never given any chance of finding a sympathetic ear, despite every effort to do so. That is another reason why the script does not adhere to the standard Hollywood versions of gay themed dramas.
Overall, this is an exceptional achievement, as it free of any simplistic view of a gay character. For that reason alone, it towers way over the run of the mill gay themed drama. Kudos to the Director and the main Actors for having the courage to break the rules in making a film that is so realistic, it could almost be a documentary.
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