Entertainment :: Movies
Taylor Greeson’s ’Meadowlark’ sings by Sam Baltrusis
EDGE ContributorWednesday Apr 23, 2008 What happens when an admitted non-confrontational filmmaker confronts the many monsters from his past--including the man who murdered his brother as well as the adult predator who took his 12-year-old virginity?
The result is "Meadowlark," an explosive film-school project turned tour-de-force documentary by Taylor Greeson.
The beautifully shot full-length feature is making its world premiere at the Independent Film Festival Boston (IFF Boston) 10 p.m. Thursday, April 24 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26.
Focusing on the summer of 1993, a painful period from Greeson’s past when his brother, Charlie, was stabbed to death in a desolate area of Montana, the 27-year-old openly gay filmmaker says his journey of self discovery isn’t about finding closure. Instead, it’s a way for him to revisit a pivotal time from his youth and deconstruct the blurry barrage of memories that continue to haunt him as an adult.
"Some people think the film is about finding closure and for me it really wasn’t," he says, phoning from the home he shares with his partner in Los Angeles. "It was about reopening these wounds that I thought had healed but really hadn’t healed very well. For me, it wasn’t about finding closure but about opening and finding a way to understand these events more profoundly."
The film’s climax, an excruciating sit-down interview with the convicted murderer of his 15-year-old brother Charlie, particularly reopened wounds Greeson thought had healed.
"I knew I had to interview Frank Fuhrmann, the man who killed my brother, and the preparation for doing that was easily the most difficult part of going back and wrestling with these demons," he recalls. "No matter how you prepare, you realize you’re completely unprepared."
One scene, a highly stylized montage of Greeson opening a box of crime-scene artifacts, a collection of bloodstained clothing and horrific photographs chronicling his brother’s death, had a deeply profound impact on Greeson and ended up moving him to tears.
"When I approached the county clerk, I didn’t expect to have access to those items as easily and quickly as they were produced for me," he says. "When I first opened that box, I had to ask if I could leave the room. That was the first moment when I realized what I was doing was harder and required more emotional fortitude than I ever expected."
While Greeson’s investigative search for answers as to why his brother was murdered fuels the emotional narrative of the documentary, the most controversial aspect of "Meadowlark" is how the filmmaker handles what he calls his "first boyfriend" Mike, a man many would view as a sexual predator.
"It’s certainly the issue in the film that I get the most backlash," he says when asked about the movie’s portrayal of Mike.
"After watching the film, I feel like I treated him as a human being and portrayed him as wholly as I could. No one is just a pedofile or a child molester. My goal was to open up people’s minds that there are shades of gray when exploring these types of issues."
Greeson, who eventually confides in his mother about the abuse as well as confronts Mike in an awkward phone conversation while filming, continues, "I certainly realize that the relationship was wrong and I definitely believe there are deep psychological effects that it has left on me. As young and naïve as I was back then, I really thought I was in love with Mike. That’s one of the complicated aspects of child molestation. It isn’t black and white and it’s hard for victims to see the issue that way."
In hindsight, Greeson admits that "Meadowlark" is an extremely intimate exploration that may leave viewers with more questions than answers.
For example, he uncovers evidence (semen found in Charlie’s anus) that suggests a potential hate-motivated attack against his brother. While Greeson confronts Fuhrmann with the evidence, the 27-year-old feels like he’ll never completely understand what happened that fateful night when his brother was stabbed to death.
"It’s heartbreaking but you have to look back at these things and realize how complex they really are and that it’s never a simple, clear-cut answer," he concludes. "When things like this happen it underscores the complexity of the human psyche and human nature and, at the same time, you have to learn to forgive."
"Meadowlark" has its world premiere at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square as part of the 2008 Independent Film Festival Boston 10:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24 at and a second screening 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26. For information on tickets and other IFF Boston shows, visit www.iffboston.org or visit Greeson’s Web site at www.taylorgreeson.com.
Sam Baltrusis has worked for WHDH-TV, CW56, MTV, VH1, Seventeen, Newsweek and as a regional stringer for The New York Times. He’s currently a full-time freelance editor/writer based in Boston. Check out his blog at loadedgunboston.blogspot.com.
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