Simply Perfect

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

No one who tries to tell the story of four decades of the struggle of LGBT issues in America is ever going to be able to please anyone but Lance Dustin Black has a damn good try with 'When We Rise' - While we have seen films on Harvey Milk and the HIV epidemic, nothing has ever been attempted on this scale before. It is a sweeping and sprawling story which works well not only as a historical signpost for those want to dig further but telling the more intimate story of the three protagonists, all of whom found themselves becoming unwilling activists in the struggle to fight gay prejudice and homophobia in America. Based partly on the writings of Cleve Jones, the story follows the journeys of Roma Guy, a young woman struggling to come to terms with her orientation, Ken Jones, an African-American ex-navy man and Cleve Jones himself, a young gay man who having come out to his father has flees to the new gay mecca in California. Each character is played by two different actors, a younger and old version (As are some of supporting characters) Though this is slightly disorientating considering the time span of the show it would have been ambitious to achieve this through make- up. All three gravitate towards San Francisco and we follow their lives through the initial struggles to fight prejudice in their own city through the AIDS era and the fight for gay marriage in the supreme court. One of the strengths of the show is the unique perspective each of these characters brings to the story. Roma sets up a women's center but has to find her own battles dealing with the divisions within and help Cleve unite them all together against both political and health issues. Much of this maybe old news to those who lived it but it made me want to read more about it. Older versions of the characters narrate us through parts of the history but thankfully this is kept to the minimum and I am glad this was told as a straight up drama. The episodes covering the AIDS era are the most heartbreaking to watch, reminding us again how so many lives were taken in such a short space of time. Though all the characters fight one battle after the next, it is the story of Ken Jones which feels the most tragic of all (If your reading this Ken, I so seriously want to give you a hug right now) Fighting both gay prejudice from within his community and the gay community. One thing the series dispels is that San Fran was not the easy gay mecca in the 1970s that we were led to believe. It was in the beginnings incredibly divided and then when it started to find its own identity it was devastated by the HIV epidemic. Although I enjoyed the entire show it worked best in the earlier segments, this was largely thanks to performances by the incredibly talented younger cast. Emily Skeggs played Roma Guy with a genuine sense of panic that she must have felt in her younger years while Jonathon Majors as a fragile Ken Jones portrays his sense of loss with great truth. But it is Austin P McKenzie as the younger Cleve Jones who really makes his mark. In the scene where the names of those fallen to AIDS are placed on San Francisco are placed on the walls of the city hall 'Remember their names...' he cries out with such sincere conviction you feel the weight of the emotion on Jones in that moment, with McKenzie taking you there with every word. I predict big things for this young man. The older cast all give solid performances with Guy Pearce getting older Cleve Jones mannerisms down to a tee and there is great support from a number of very capable newer actors in the cast in the form of Ivory Aquino, Justin Sams, Adam DiMarco, Nick Eversman, T.R Knight and Charles Socarides (Is he related to the character he plays?) Although I watched the show with the adverts removed the numbers of fades to black in each episode was incredibly distracted and often disrupted the emotional flow of scenes and moments in the show. It's a bit minor gripe, but these kinds of fades are really not needed for advertising these days and were distracting.That aside I found this a highly engaging, entertaining, emotionally charged and informative piece which I know I will show my children one day. It won't please everyone I am sure, but Black is to be commended for bringing such a show to television when America is more divided than it has ever been. If there was ever a time for a history lesson on the subject, it is certainly now. As Cleve Jones says at one point 'What is your generation going to do now?'

The story is one that's important to tell, but the quality is NO WHERE near "And the Band Played On" or "Milk." The dialogue is trite and forced, and when the "bad guys" (homophobes) speak, they sound like villains straight out of Dragnet. The bad dialogue then prevents these talented actors from giving strong performances. I almost wondered if George Lucas had written the screenplay...DO watch it; it's important for kids and younger adults today to know this story. But I have to recommend "And the Band Played On" as the better film on the same topic.It was made for HBO with better acting and more believable dialogue, and actually tells you much more about the early days of the AIDS crisis.I'm very disappointed to see how "network" ABC made this thing; it feels low budget and heavily watered down.

Lofty goals and high ambitions are not guarantors of success. Neither are Oscar-winning screen writers, Oscar-nominated directors, nor seasoned performers. The overly ambitious TV miniseries, "We Shall Rise," comes across as an historical pastiche culled from such superior material as "Milk," "And the Band Played On," "Longtime Companion," and "The Normal Heart." Dustin Lance Black's California-centric teleplay uses broad strokes to cover the gay rights movement from the Stonewall riots to AIDS to marriage equality through the eyes of three players in the struggle: Cleve Jones, Roma Guy, and Ken Jones. However, even a five-part series cannot do justice to more then four decades of history, especially when the ABC telecast interrupts every two to five minutes with commercials; even more annoying, the commercials look like the program and the program looks like the commercials. Without any transitions, viewers need a few seconds to determine if they are still watching the program or if another ad has sneaked in. The four directors, which include Gus Van Sant, maintain a good pace and utilize newsreel footage, some with unconvincing inserts of the actors, interspersed with the drama to illustrate events. Although challenging to judge with all the interruptions, more favorable reviews may emerge after "We Shall Rise" appears on DVD.Perhaps most disrupting was the decision to change the cast members mid-program. Austin P. McKenzie, Emily Skeggs, and Jonathan Majors play Cleve, Roma, and Ken during the first few episodes. Then, Guy Pearce, Mary Louise-Parker, and Michael Kenneth Williams take over in the same roles as slightly older versions of the characters. The change is jarring; the younger actors bear little to no resemblance to their slightly more mature counterparts, and none attempts to match their characters mannerisms or personalities. The younger actors come off better, perhaps because they create the characters and suffer no comparisons to earlier incarnations as do Pearce, Parker, and Williams. However, the directors and cast should have studied "Moonlight," a film that seamlessly used three different actors to portray the same character at various stages of his life. Frankly, "We Shall Rise" had little reason to use different actors; the age disparity is not that great, and subtle make-up and acting could have convincingly bridged the age gap. Viewers now ponder why Cleve became more affected as he aged, while Ken became less good natured, not to mention the drastic physical changes.Unfortunately, ABC's brave decision to devote a week's prime-time programming to a lesson in gay rights history was not well served, and the weak ratings will likely dampen enthusiasm for further efforts. The disjointed telecast impacts the drama, and some good performances from a large talented cast suffer. A generous sprinkling of cameos from Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Dylan Walsh, David Hyde Pierce, Rob Reiner, and others testifies to the broad support and enthusiasm for the project. However, the intended audience for the project is uncertain. The LGBT community, their friends, and their families already know and have lived this history, while those opposed to equal rights will not tune in. With the choir stalls filled, are there any open minds to fill the pews?

Same old, same old. I've always admired Cleve Jones and all he's done, but just like so much "gay" programming, it's all about the gay male experience. Lesbians are incidental. I am waiting for a lesbian history docudrama, with women who look, act, and have lives like real lesbians. How about a docudrama about Jean Jullien? Or Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon? Or women's music? Just as men have co-opted American culture and made men the "default, normal" they are now co-opting the LGBTQ history and experience. Sexism is just as alive and well within portrayals of the "gay" community as everywhere else.