To a More Perfect Union offers an intimate look at Windsor as a gay rights pioneer, and its correlation with the Stonewall Riots, the AIDS crisis, the Defense of Marriage Act and other staples of LGBTQ history.
In interviews, Kaplan describes Windsor and Spyer’s marriage as the perfect encapsulation of the fight for equality by same-sex couples in the 20th century. Echoing that sentiment, To a More Perfect Union frames the decision to affirm same-sex marriage as part of a larger cultural evolution. Zaccaro draws on different eras in American political history – the AIDS epidemic, the passing of DOMA, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) – the suggest that Windsor was, in addition to her intelligence and charisma, the right plaintiff at the right time for the country.
Zaccaro offers an easily digested explanation of what they were up against. We see how the Defense of Marriage Act was born out of a panic that Hawaii’s inclination to legalize gay marriage would spread. The film is quick to make excuses for Bill Clinton, who as president presented himself as an LGBT ally but signed the legislation into law; he was boxed in by Republicans, we’re told, and had little choice. (Um, sure. Same thing with welfare reform and the crime bill, right?)
Filmmaker Donna Zaccaro and attorney Robbie Kaplan discuss the documentary To a More Perfect Union: U.S. v. Windsor. The film chronicles the experiences of Edie Windsor and her attorney (Kaplan) and their lawsuit against the U.S. government. Windsor had been forced to pay a huge estate tax bill upon the death of her spouse because the federal government denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. Windsor decided to sue the United States government – and won.
In the moving documentary “To a More Perfect Union: U.S. V. Windsor”, director Donna Zaccaro establishes both the historical and emotional context for a landmark Supreme Court decision. The film explores the powerful experience of gay rights pioneer – and vivacious personality – Edie Windsor and her fight to be recognized legally as the wife of her decades-long partner, Thea Speer.
The storytelling and the presentation of the history is masterful and I easily rank this among the top documentary films that I have seen, in recent years. Zaccaro perfectly pieces together a narrative of past and present. Showing the journey of the gay rights movement and placing the past struggles alongside current conflict. In the story of Edie and Thea, there is a summary of the story of an entire group of people. It’s a compelling story that is presented perfectly.
Appropriately for Women’s History Month, with Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way, Donna created a film to keep her mother’s legacy alive for future generations. To a More Perfect Union: U.S. v. Windsor memorializes another life, Edie Windsor’s, and her fight for marriage equality alongside her attorney Roberta Kaplan. “Made by a New York woman, about New York women who made history, it is riveting, impactful, and not to be missed” says Brett McSweeney, the Executive Director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee.
