Bridegroom

Film and television can harness the power of the human emotion like no other medium can. And that is why documentaries like Bridegroom are so effective in highlighting societal challenges such as homophobia and bigotry. Through various first-person narratives and archival footage, Director Linda Bloodworth-Thomason weaves together a chronological account of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom’s heartfelt story of love, acceptance, hope and despair as a gay couple living in the United States of America.

Photo credit: Webpronews.com

Crone had met Bridegroom through mutual friends in 2005 and by all accounts, had quickly fallen in love with him. Six years later, with marriage on the horizon, tragedy strikes and Bridegroom is killed in a freak accident. Still reeling from the sudden loss of his life partner, Crone is banned from attending Bridegroom’s funeral by his partner’s family and is forced to hold a celebration of life thousands of kilometres away in California.

Photo credit: Oprah.com

The title of the documentary is both on point and tongue-in-cheek given the fact that homosexuality and the definition of marriage are both polarizing topics in the United States. While I commend Bloodworth-Thomason for bringing to the forefront the ramifications of hate and bigotry within our society, I found myself asking if that was the only purpose to this documentary?  Or, was it Bloodworth-Thomason’s objective to draw a connection between Crone’s story and the issue of marriage equality in the United States? If so, additional voices were needed to help connect the dots for there were moments when I felt that the documentary was simply an extended version of a same-sex anniversary reel.

While intended or not, Bridegroom is a potent reminder that regardless of one’s sexual orientation, love is steadfastly democratic: how much you receive is directly proportional to how much you give. And thanks to the support from both family and friends, both Crone and Bridegroom grew-up open to loving and were able to forge an intimate and nurturing relationship with one another that many of us can only dream of.

Watch Bridegroom on Netflix.

Click HERE to visit the official site.