The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)

• Year: 2017
• Released: 06 Oct 2017
• Country: Greece, United States
• Adwords: 4 wins & 5 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5233558/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_death_and_life_of_marsha_p_johnson
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: TV-MA
• Genre: Documentary, Biography
• Runtime: 105 min
• Writer: David France, Mark Blane
• Director: David France
• Cast: Kurt Wolfe, Sue Yacka, Catherine Shugrue Dos Santos
• Keywords: new york city, suicide, drag queen, investigation, biography, murder,

	7.2/10
	76/100
	97% – Critics
	72% – Audience

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Storyline

When Stonewall Veteran and beloved Greenwich Village personality Marsha P Johnson turned up dead shortly after Gay Pride in 1992, it was the latest in a series of murders, gay bashings, and “mysterious” deaths in the local gay community. Johnson is seen in footage at a political march shortly before this, at an action trying to draw attention to these hate crimes. Tragically, Johnson then becomes the next victim. Like the other suspicious deaths, Johnson’s death is quickly dismissed as a “suicide”, even though there is no evidence that Johnson was suicidal, and significant evidence that Johnson was harassed and stalked on that very night. Demonstrations are held to protest the lack of police investigation, but it is not until decades later that transgender crime advocate Victoria Cruz succeeds in getting some answers. Even after decades, many contemporaries of Johnson are still afraid to discuss on the record what happened to Johnson, the murders that took place in the Village in that era, the danger that follows many of the most marginalized in the community, and the threats that some still fear. Like the previous documentary on Marsha P Johnson, Pay it No Mind, this film relies on archival footage of the dead, letting the subjects speak for themselves. Footage of Johnson at political actions is included, though some might not notice Johnson at first at some of these actions and memorials, dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt, or jeans and a flannel shirt, with no wig. Stonewall veterans, AIDS activists, and early gender nonconforming and transgender activists are shown at these demonstrations, as well. The Gay Liberation Rally, where Sylvia Rivera gives the fiery “You Listen Up!” speech is also featured, along with with other interviews with Rivera and AIDS memorials with ACT UP and Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

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The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Movie Reviews

Another amazing documentary from David France

From the director of the quite extraordinarily brilliant How To Survive A Plague comes this film.

Marsha P Johnson was a black transvestite/drag queen (there was no ‘transgender’ then) who hung around Christopher Street in the 60s until her mysterious death when she was pulled out of the Hudson River in the early 90s. As we hear from one person captured on video back then who witnessed her body being recovered there appears to have been some kind of wound on her head. Could there be more to Marsha’s death than just the officially held cause being accidental? Was it suicide or homicide?

David France expertly tracks the work of Victoria Cruz in unearthing and unravelling what happened to Marsha whilst celebrating this revolutionaries life. Moments of this documentary are sometimes very shocking. One such is when Ms Cruz telephones a retired member of the NYPD who she asks to meet to discuss the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s death. ‘Definitely not’ he responds to her meeting request. He then warns her ‘Don’t go playing detective’. Sinister.

This film feels like new unexplored relics and answers from LGBT history being unveiled right before your eyes.

However, there are politics at play regarding the film. Some members of the non-white trans movement are slamming France’s work as hes a white cisgender (non-trans) man who is making this film rather than a trans person of colour. There have been accusations of theft of material from another project that was being made by the trans community regarding Johnson. There are also accusations that David France could get funding and distribution because hes white and cisgender. I think these accusations are just a case of sour grapes. If you are a filmmaker who has made films before, have a proven track record and can actually accomplish these projects through to fruition then you will get funding and distribution. How long have we been waiting for the fictionalised short film Happy Birthday, Marsha? I’m amused that its fictionalised- so was Stonewall in 2015. Lets see if there are protests regarding this new film if events are seen to be historically accurate.

Also, does it matter whether the person making the film is trans or cisgender or what their ethnicity is when the film they make is as great as this?

There seems to be a huge emphasis on Marsha and Sylvia Rivera when it comes to LGBT history and the Stonewall Riots. But when anyone else is represented they are lumped together and not given the same kind of detailed analysis or be the centre of attention. I’d love a similar documentary on Danny Garvin, Martin Boyce or the person widely believed to have started the riots- Jackie Hormona (Marsha P Johnson admitted in an interview that when she arrived at the Stonewall Inn on that fateful night in 1969 that the rioting had already started. The interview is here- makinggayhistory.com/podcast/episode-11-johnson-wicker/ She dashed off to Bryant Park to tell Sylvia Rivera who had taken heroin). You don’t know who Garvin, Boyce or Garvin are? Thats very telling.

A great documentary. Now lets hear about other Stonewall voices.

people with the least.. share the most

Wow.. this documentary is beautiful! So much to learn for people that would open their eyes and heart and be human(e). What I saw mostly was the fight against injustice in many ways, and the almost saint-like Marsha that shared so much of herself. It’s always people with the least privilege that share the most. I found that part when Sylvia took the stage very powerful, and speech she gave and the reaction that it got showed the hypocrisy of many (gay people) in the white middle class and up that just took what they wanted and moved on leaving the others in the dirt. The people doing real work in the trenches almost never get their shine.. Later on, the times we live in now.. people jump on a bandwagon and think they are holy for adopting a mind-state that seems to portray open mindedness, but it doesn’t. We need to stop worshiping celebs and give props to those that are not super-visible..try and recognise them, they are seldom seen and at the same time they are there…Mostly they are not shiny, not superclean, they are scarred and broken from lifting so much weight. See them. Strong documentary.

Very painful to see how much Sylvia has struggled. Beautiful to see how Marsha shared her light. I love it when a documentary sheds light on people that are unseen, people that fought justice and gave love where there was so much darkness and hate.

Spaces

A triangular shaped metal sign on a pole near where Marsha Johnson’s body was found is titled Queer Spaces and explains who she was and how she died. This sign says a lot about this film–spaces. So many spaces exist where we learn nothing about Marsha’s life or spaces where files about her case have gone missing, spaces where we get a glimpse of a person’s life in her 20’s and then only a glimpse again when she is in much older (true of Sylvia, Victoria, and many others).

The compelling aspect of this documentary is the character study of the unflappable Victoria in her investigation and Sylvia Riviera, who hits the bottom and comes back to be a great activist. Both are more interesting than Marsha herself–at least what we learn of Marsha in this film. The scenes where Victoria shows us photos of herself when she was young on stage and Sylvia getting a job at a church are wonderful.

One big space is the lack of resources put into investigating the violence against trans-gendered people–Victoria’s boss notes this toward the end. The spaces are the questions always left unanswered when someone dies without reason.

Basically, the movie’s title is misleading. It’s not really about Marsha, though she is a part of the larger story. It’s about being trans-gendered in New York and how this has changed and not changed in the last 50 years.