THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan

"FOR MY WIFE..."

When you hear it, the story is pretty appalling. Charlene Strong is a Seattle woman whose partner, Kate Fleming, was trapped in their basement during a flash flood. Once rescued, the barely-alive Kate was taken to a hospital in an attempt to resuscitate her. Hospital staff wouldn't let Charlene go in the room with her, despite the fact that they'd been living together for over eight years. With her partner moments away from death, Charlene had to endure a ridiculous amount of red tape simply to hold Kate's hand in those final seconds. It gets worse. When the time came to make funeral arrangements, the funeral director refused to work with her, despite being told that she was the one who'd be making all decisions. He happily accepted her credit card, though.

From that day forward, Charlene decided to become an activist. She lobbied the House and Senate in the state of Washington, eventually getting them to pass Domestic Partnership laws that protect LGBT couples and families. Through this act, same-sex partners have the same rights as heterosexual spouses during those unthinkable moments during and following medical crisis. It was a stunning victory for equality. Charlene is (largely) the focus of For My Wife…, an hour-long documentary that is now on DVD after making rounds on the film festival circuit.

The movie's style is unfocused, yet the power of the message still comes through. Charlene appears in front of the camera to tell her story in the opening minutes. Then we see extended C-SPAN style clips of the House/Senate debates, during which Washington Senator Rosa Franklin gives the most logical and eloquent defense of gay rights I've ever heard. Later, the emphasis shifts to the heartbreaking story of another woman who went through a debacle similar to Charlene's. There's a music montage of Charlene traveling and getting media training from GLAAD, followed by more media footage of same-sex couples talking about their newly-acquired rights in Washington. The movie ends with Charlene meeting President Obama.

Truth be told, Charlene's experience is both riveting and important enough that she could have held a feature-length film on her own. I wish filmmakers David Rothmiller and L.D. Thompson had given her more time not only to talk about the events surrounding Kate's death, but also to talk more about their life together and how that influenced her commitment to fight for equality. It feels like a lot of stuff is trying to be crammed into a brief running time, and so the central figure in the documentary never gets to become as familiar to us as we'd like.

While that's admittedly a flaw, For My Wife… gets it right in other areas. Most specifically, it presents a very clear, levelheaded argument in favor of domestic partnership rights. The film puts a human face on the issue, reminding us that to take away rights from a partner during a time of medical crisis is simply cruel. People want to be there to support and care for their loved ones, and there's no sane reason to prevent them from doing so. The debate footage and news clips used in the documentary have been wisely chosen, too.

And then there's Charlene Strong herself. She is an inspiration. Even with somewhat limited screen time, her sincerity shines through. Listening to her relate the sad events of that December day, you can't help but put yourself in her shoes. She is someone who turned personal tragedy into a greater good. Kate would be proud of her, and viewers of For My Wife… will be too. It's not a perfect film, but it's compelling enough to be worth seeking out.

The DVD, available from Cinema Libre Studio, also contains several bonus features. There's an interview with Gloria Steinem, who talks about marriage equality, a Warren Report Podcast interview, a "Meet the Filmmakers" segment, and "My Reclamation," a video by Sam Harris.

( out of four)

For My Wife... is unrated. The running time is 1 hour.