Reviews
Apr 20 2013
Valentine Road - Directed by Marta Cunningham
By Daniel Pratt
http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/HotDocs/valentine_road-directed_by_marta_cunningham_2In 2008, California elementary school student Brandon McInerny shot classmate Lawrence King twice in the back of the head. The unspeakable act was carried out in the school's computer lab, shocking the teacher and fellow student witnesses with a tragic murder that would forever impact their own lives.
Director Marta Cunningham places this horrifying tale under the microscope in Valentine Road, examining the lives of both the shooter and the victim, questioning the reason behind violence between adolescents.
Was this a hate crime? King, a youth that was in the process of coming to terms with his transgendered tendencies, began wearing makeup and women's clothing to school and made the unfortunate mistake of expressing his feelings for a classmate. King asked McInerny (a fellow male classmate) if he would be his Valentine in front of their peers, causing a great deal of embarrassment and dismay.
Was this an instance of "gay panic?" The defendant's legal team puts forth the idea that King was being incredibly flamboyant, forcing his feelings and beliefs on to someone that was not receptive, which borders on sexual harassment. McInerny eventually reached a place where he believed that violence was the only escape.
Cunningham navigates the tragedy, recounting the backstories of the boys and finds parallels between the two; King was a neglected foster child that bounced around homes, while an abusive father and a drug-addicted mother raised McInerny. Through a series of talking head interviews with the boys' classmates, friends and family, we are given a better understanding of who the two were and how their child-rearing had an impact on the trajectory of their lives.
