Press materials for "Soldier's Girl" make a bit of noise about how the film reveals the unworkability of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gay and lesbian personnel. He joined The Chronicle in 1992 as a copy editor with the arts section and became entertainment editor in 1995 and executive features editor in 2006. Nyswaner and Pierson don't try to explain Winchell's attraction to Calpernia, whom the young private first sees performing in a drag revue in a Tennessee gay bar. Her subsequent recovery by U.S. Special … Garity brings complete credibility and dimension to Winchell without being able to rely on any verbalized introspection on his character's part. Barry is a private with the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky while Calpernia works as a showgirl at a transgender revue in Nashville, Tennessee. Into this mix comes an even more screwed-up kid named Calvin Glover (Philip Eddolls), who becomes the instrument of Fisher's drug- and alcohol-fueled mania to reel Winchell back to the world of "real men" at Fort Campbell. Awkward at first and not understanding his own feelings, Winchell (Troy Garity) is tentative and unfailingly polite with Calpernia (Lee Pace), calling to mind a pimply teenage boy trying to muster the courage to ask a popular cheerleader out. While it's true that Pace is aided by extraordinary makeup and prosthetics (are they real or mammar-ex? Opinion: I voted like it was life or death, and you... What happens if you test positive for COVID-19 in Hawaii, New details released on California mom who went missing in Zion, A wild police chase in San Francisco on Thursday ends in death, Brutal 41-year-old Benicia cold case murder finally solved, 'It sucks': Celebrity chef abruptly closes popular SF restaurant after 6 years. SOLDIER'S GIRL is the true story of Barry Winchell, a soldier at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who in 1999 fell in love with Calpernia Addams, a beautiful trans-gendered nightclub performer from Nashville. What triggered Glover's attack and Fisher's instigation of it was sickness and hate, factors that are still too much with us, in the military and in society at large. But how will TV audiences react to another fact-based story in which one of the principals is a transgendered former U.S. sailor who now goes by the name of Calpernia Adams? In the closed, rigid world of the army, their love affair created jealousy and misunderstanding among Barry's fellow soldiers. Why you've never heard of the first Netflix Original, 'Lilyhammer.' On the other hand, the relationship Winchell has with Fisher is complex and elusive, and keeps the audience guessing, trying to figure out if we should feel sorry for Fisher because he's so clearly working overtime to hide his feelings of vulnerability, or if we should hate him for the bully he so often is. Did Henry in fact order Becket's murder, or did he merely express a fleeting wish to be rid of his nemesis, only to have that thought interpreted as an veiled order by his followers? Misguided loyalty is also at the black heart of Glover's murder of Winchell. Lynch was seriously injured. What it does show is that, except for Fisher and Glover, no one else much cared about Barry Winchell's private life. And why it's still my favorite. Starring Troy Garity, Shawn Hatosy, Lee Pace. 9 p.m. Saturday, Showtime. The filmmakers have likened their story to "Othello," casting Fisher as a military Iago goading the unwitting Glover to commit the murder. By not getting tangled up in psychology, the filmmakers keep our focus where it should be, on two human beings who fall in love. When Barry and Calpernia start dating, Fisher, out of jealousy, participates in spreading rumors about Barry's alleged affair, which appeared to be a violation of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy which forbids discussion of sexual orientation of military personnel. Why hasn't there been a good 'SNL' movie in 20 years? It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Frank R. Pierson, with Troy Garity starring as Barry and Lee Pace starring as Calpernia. But regardless, you'll rarely see acting this intense, focused or letter-perfect on any screen. Rumors spread that Barry was gay. As a director, Pierson has always been fairly uninspired, which oddly enough makes him a perfect choice for "Soldier's Girl." It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Frank R. Pierson, with Troy Garity starring as Barry and Lee Pace starring as Calpernia. I-80 closed in both directions near Auburn, Walmart just announced that 'Black Friday' starts Nov. 4. Soldier's Girl is a 2003 Canadian-American drama film produced by Showtime. A native of Rochester, N.Y., he holds a bachelor's degree in English and a master's in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. Why the oldest Netflix Original is still my favorite. David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and TV critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Finally, Hatosy is on fire every time he's onscreen. Soldier's Girl was filmed in Toronto and Barrie in Ontario, Canada. Meanwhile, back at Fort Campbell, Winchell is careful about hiding his relationship with Calpernia. It is based on a story of the relationship between Barry Winchell and Calpernia Addams and the events that led up to Barry's murder by a fellow soldier. The lowrider icon pleading with SF's Latino... See inside a Victorian with ties to Houdini, Manson... A new Marvel movie is reportedly filming in San... 'A light when we needed it most': New viral mural on... Maki the lemur makes an appearance on 'Saturday... 46-year-old Berkeley cafe permanently closes. "I was brought up to act a certain way around a lady," he says. Perhaps Pierson knew which buttons to push to elicit this trio of performances, or maybe he just got out of the way. It is based on a story of the relationship between Barry Winchell and Calpernia Addams and the events that led up to Barry's murder by a fellow soldier. Eventually, loyalty will overcome the possibilities, at least, of reason and compassion in Glover's mind and lead him to beat Fisher to death. There's not an ounce of artiness to Pierson's style, and that enables Nyswaner's script to do its careful work. News. Soldier's Girl is a 2003 Canadian-American drama film produced by Showtime. Is working from home (literally) a pain in the neck? On March 23, 2003, Private First Class Lynch was serving as a unit supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces during the Battle of Nasiriyah. But this isn't a film about a straight boy who falls in love with a woman with a penis: As written by Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia") and directed by Frank Pierson ("A Star Is Born," 1975), "Soldier's Girl," which will be broadcast Saturday night, is a tragic love story with universal appeal. Well, no it doesn't. Once it became the foundation for theater, the beating death of a gay.