A Girl Like Me' leaves viewers haunted

Gwen Amber Rose Araujo was born Edward Araujo in California in 1985. From an early age, Eddie felt that something was wrong with him, and that he was a girl on the inside.
In his teens, he began transitioning to female, choosing the name "Gwen" after his favorite pop star, singer Gwen Stefani. Gradually, Gwen began living full-time as a female and like many young trans persons, began dating boys from whom she concealed her biological gender.
At 17, after a group of boys with whom she had allegedly had sexual relations discovered she had male genitalia, she was beaten and strangled to death, before they hog-tied her, wrapped her in a blanket and buried in a shallow grave in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
This is the story that "A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story," an original movie from Lifetime, is based upon. As a result, it is expectedly difficult to watch. It is in many ways the counterpart to "Boys Don't Cry," the big screen adaptation of the life of Brandon Teena, a female-to-male transgendered man who at 21 was murdered in rural Nebraska when it was discovered he possessed female genitalia.
Indeed, these stories are not stand alones but rather examples of an alarming epidemic in the trans community – death by discovery of gender dysphoria – without which there might not be a need for the annual Transgendered Day of Remembrance.
"A Girl Like Me," which debuts at 9 p.m. on Monday, June 19, stars newcomer J.D. Pardo as Araujo, who had taken on the nickname "Lida" at the time of her death. Opposite Pardo is Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl as Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero.
"This is a poignant story about a mother who loved her child unconditionally, but ultimately lost her daughter due to the ignorance and fear of four young men," said Ruehl. "Everyday, Sylvia and her family continue to endure the pain of Gwen's death, but what we can all learn from the tragedy is tolerance for all people, regardless of sexual gender or identity."
With scenes from the trial that followed Araujo's murder interspersed throughout, the film tells her story for the most part in chronological order. At 56, Ruehl appears far too old to play young Eddie's mother. But her acting brilliance cannot be denied. As Gwen's mother she is gut-wrenchingly powerful, at once both supportive of her child and frustrated by her antics, not to mention justifiably fearful of what is to come. And the trial scene at the end just might be enough to add "Emmy-winning" to Ruehl's list of accolades.
As a gay man, I could relate with much of Eddie's early years, including the complete inability to play sports and the desire, instead, to play dress up. The familiarity made it no easier to witness, however, and as the film continued I found myself looking away from the screen with alarming frequency.
As Gwen, Pardo is serviceable, but not spectacular. He would have been well served to spend a week at the Ruth Ellis Center, which would have undoubtedly brought some much-needed "realness," as the youth say, to the part.
"After reading the script and researching Gwen's life, I felt it would be a challenge to play this role," said Pardo. "Gwen had to deal with so many challenges we take for granted every day. Her bravery to be herself is extremely inspiring, and hopefully people will become more sensitive to and aware of the discrimination after watching the movie."
Yes, that's something to hope for – that, and peace for Gwen, and safety for all those like her in the world.