MovieChat Forums > Stonewall (1996) Discussion > One of the cruelest scenes ever (SPOILER...

One of the cruelest scenes ever (SPOILER)

posted 16 years ago by androphile
6 replies | jump to latest

I refer, of course, to the scene that starts out so romantically with Vinnie and Bostonia in bed. It seems like Vinnie has finally seen the light and decided, to hell with the world, he's going to openly declare his love for Bostonia. I got a warm feeling all over thinking here's one story that's going to have a happy ending (even in 1969!)--and then he suddenly blows his brains out right next to Bostonia. It's an incredibly cruel thing to do, not only to Bostonia but to the viewer. Perhaps one thing that contributes to its cruelty is that it is, unfortunately, so believable. For a while Vinnie believed that if Bostonia had sex-change surgery, then the two of them could be together without any persecution. But Bostonia opens his eyes, and now he knows, operation or not, he'll never have the chance to live openly with the love of his life. So he decides to have one last fling with her and then off himself. But Bostonia and we, the audience, don't know anything about his plans until he carries them out.

It's the same theme of star-crossed lovers who aren't allowed to be together that is the core of many tragic stories from Romeo and Juliet to Brokeback Mountain. But this time it ends so much more brutally and bloodily than others. Does anyone know if this part of the Stonewall story is fact or fiction? I sure hope it's fiction. It's so traumatic.

"Tell you what . . . the truth is . . . sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." --Jack Twist

[–] Studman_Productions 16 years ago

it's a docudrama

[–] androphile 16 years ago

Yes, and a "docudrama" in my mind is a mixture of verified fact (documentary) and fiction (drama). So I'm wondering if anyone knows whether this storyline is fact or fiction.

"Tell you what . . . the truth is . . . sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it."

[–] Studman_Productions 16 years ago

[–] gayspiritwarrior 11 years ago

All of the individuals in the movie are fictitious. They're more indicative of the types of people involved in the uprising. The broad events are factual, but the stories hung on those events are all made-up. That's not to say they're unrealistic. It wasn't unusual for a man caught having public sex or arrested in a compromising situation to kill himself, out of fear of public or business reprisal. I know how desperate that sounds, but it's the way things were.

"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde

[–] heyteegs 15 years ago

I assumed the scene you write of was fiction although the pain Vinnie must have felt was very real. I wouldn't doubt that others have offed themselves over that same pain.

http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/

[–] nycruise-1 11 years ago

It was/is no secret that pretty much the entire bar business in NYC is/was under the control of the Mob/Organized Crime/Mafia.

It is very difficult to open a bar in NYC for the simple reason you need a liquor license - and that costs somewhere around $100,000 - and that's just the start of the start-up money you need (year's rent, year's wages, inventory, etc).

Also - you have to apply for a license and wait in line, and that in itself is daunting since there are many in line waiting.

Given all that, it's no small leap of imagination to realize that any gay members of an organized crime family probably were given their own gay bars to run. I'm sure there was a lot of homophobia within the mob families, but, at the same time, I'm sure they knew that there was money to be made from "undesirables" - and that, if one of their own could run a bar and make money, why not?

I think that is the story behind Vinnie. I can easily imagine that a gay Mafia boy would be horribly conflicted over his homosexuality vs. his Catholic upbringing - to the point that he would commit suicide. Friends who were part of the Stonewall crowd have related that the Mob was definitely part of the gay bar scene back then (probably even now).

In fact, one friend even told me that the raid on that fateful night in June 1969 was really the police trying to get at the books in the bar, because they wanted to bust the Mob. The gays were caught in the middle - and they decided to fight back.

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"