Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story still lands a punch, and it does so without resorting to overwrought or preachy tactics. A made-for-television movie that first aired in 1995, it tells the story of the Army's then-most highly decorated officer to be booted from military service on the basis of sexual orientation.

Col. Margarethe "Grethe" Cammermeyer's biggest transgression was honesty. In 1989, the chief nurse of the Washington National Guard acknowledged that she was gay, effectively ending a nearly 25-year Army career that had included a tour of duty in Vietnam and the awarding of the Bronze Star.

Cammermeyer is played by Glenn Close, and her assured, humane performance gives Serving in Silence much of its straightforward heft. She makes Grethe a flesh-and-blood human being, not a symbol or icon. With startling nuance, Close portrays a woman whose steadfast integrity is tinged with naiveté, an officer whose ambitions are complicated by a certain amount of obstinance.

Serving in Silence begins with Grethe Cammermeyer's transfer to Seattle, where she takes a top post with the Washington National Guard so she can be closer to her four sons from a previous marriage. She is a hardcore workaholic, juggling Guard duties while working at a hospital and pursuing a doctorate in nursing. The crowded schedule leaves little room for a personal life -- that changes when she meets and falls in love with a free-spirited Los Angeles artist, Diane (Judy Davis), who is openly (sorta) lesbian.

Smart and concise, this Emmy-winning TV flick allows its tale of social consciousness to unfold without cheap sensationalism. Director Jeff Bleckner and writer Alison Cross handle Grethe and Diane's budding relationship with deft realism, as the women make a real emotional connection before Grethe faces up to a sexual orientation that she has long denied. When the telefilm was first aired by NBC, much was made at the time of a passionate smooch between Close and Davis, but the kiss is hardly the stuff of scandal.

What did prove scandalous – at least in the eyes of the military – was Grethe Cammermeyer's truthfulness. The colonel acknowledges during a routine security clearance that she is guilty of what the Army terms "immoral conduct" – homosexuality. As the episode predated the "don't ask, don't tell" compromise forged by the Clinton Administration, Grethe's refusal to lie resulted in a firestorm of controversy and, in 1989, an honorable discharge from the Army.

Without hitting audiences over the head, Serving in Silence places the Army's discriminatory practices in a larger context of a society rife with divisions. Grethe Cammermeyer had weathered her share of rejection long before the Army moved for her dismissal. As the movie reveals, she is not allowed to attend her eldest son's wedding because he is married in the Mormon church (the sons have converted according to the wishes of their father). She endures cutting comments from her father (Jan Rubes), a sexist old man from Norway.

The Army, the hallowed institution to which Grethe has devoted most of her adult life, proves to be one betrayal too many. She fought the Pentagon and, in 1994, a federal judge tossed out Cammermeyer's discharge and ordered her reinstated to the Army (she returned to military service and retired in 1997). But her story still resonates -- especially since it is believed that an estimated 65,000 homosexuals and lesbians are currently active in the U.S. military.

One tangential note: Look for a very young Ryan Reynolds as one of Grethe Cammermeyer's four sons.

The picture is very good quality, boasting realistic skin tones and vivid colors. Presented in full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story is several cuts above your run-of-the-mill telefilm. The print transfer is solid, betraying none of the washout that tends to afflict other made-for-TV productions.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 is surprisingly crisp and strong, but the movie is far and away driven by dialogue, so don't expect the sound to shake any plaster from your living room walls.

The nine-minute Silent No More: Behind the Scenes of Serving in Silence includes interviews with executive producer Barbra Streisand, Cammermeyer, Close, Davis and Bleckner. Despite some decent information provided, this is pretty standard stuff. Oddly, a sizable chunk of the piece appears to have been shot back in 1995.

The other extras include a videotaped segment of the Hollywood premiere of Serving in Silence on Jan. 23, 1995, at Century City. The 15-minute clip features remarks by Streisand, co-executive producer Craig Zudan and a surprisingly funny Grethe Cammermeyer. There is also a nine-minute, 50-second video of the 1996 GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards, which bestowed honors on the filmmakers.

A commentary by Cammermeyer would have been useful, as would a recap of how the military's treatment of gays and lesbians evolved after her case. Alas, the only other extras we get are trailers for The Celluloid Closet, Philadelphia, Ladies' Night (TV) and '80s Hits (TV).

There is no mistaking Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story as anything but a made-for-TV movie, but don't let that dissuade you from giving it a chance. While talky and stagy, the telefilm doesn't drag or preach in telling its story of a bona fide American hero.