Boys Don't Cry

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This movie really made me think about sexual differences and what it means to have a sex change or to want one, or to be trapped in a gender you don't want. It was very effective to have us see Hilary Swank (who plays Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon) with short hair and male facial expressions and gestures without giving us a glimpse of her as Teena. (Actually we did get a brief glimpse in a photo.) Swank looks like a boy, acts like a boy, in fact works hard to be a boy; indeed that is (sadly) part of what this movie is about, what it means to be a boy in middle America as opposed to being a girl. And then when we have the scene with the tampons and the breast wrapping and we see her legs, the effect is startling, an effect possibly lost on those who knew that the person playing Brandon was a woman. It was when I saw her legs and could tell at a glance that she was a woman with a woman's legs that I realized just how subtle, but unmistakable are the anatomical sexual differences, and how convincing Swank's portrayal was.

I was reminded as I watched this of being a young person, of being a teenager and going through all the rituals and rites, unspoken, unplanned, without social sanction, that we all go through to prove our identity, because that is what Brandon was so eager to do, to prove his identity as a boy. I thought, ah such an advantage he has with the girls because he knows what they like and what they want. He can be smooth, and how pretty he looks. It was strange. I actually knew some guys in my youth who had such talent, and the girls did love them.

The direction by Kimberly Peirce is nicely paced and the forebodings of horror to come are sprinkled lightly throughout so that we don't really think about the resolution perhaps until the campfire scene in which John Lotter shows his self-inflicted scars and tosses the knife to Brandon. Then we know for sure, something bad is going to happen.

Hilary Swank is very convincing. Her performance is stunning, and she deserved the Academy Award she won for Best Actress. She is the type of tomboy/girl so beloved of the French cinema, tomboyish, but obvious a girl like, for example, Zouzou as seen in Chloe in the Afternoon (1972) or Élodie Bouchez in the The Dreamlife of Angels (1998), or many others. Indeed, one is even reminded of Juliette Binoche, who of course can play anything, or going way back, Leslie Caron in Gigi (1958). Chloe Signvey, who plays Lana Tisdel, the girl Brandon loves, whom I first saw in Palmetto (1998), where she stole a scene or two from Woody Allen and Elisabeth Shue, really comes off ironically as butch to Swank, yet manages a sexy, blue collar girl next door femininity. She also does a great job. Peter Sarsgaard is perfect as John Lotter, trailer trash car thief and homophobic redneck degenerate.

Very disturbing is the ending. If you know the story, you know the ending. Just how true this was to the real life story it is based on is really irrelevant. I knew nothing about the story, but I know that film makers always take license to tell it the way they think it will play best, and so it's best to just experience the film as the film, independent of the real story, which, like all real stories, can never be totally told.

Obviously this is not for the kiddies and comes as close to an "X" rating as any "R" movie you'll ever see. It will make most viewers uncomfortable, but it is the kind of story that needs to be told.

I could barely watch this film, not because it was bad, or I thought it was boring, but because it was so awful what they did to that poor girl.

Sometimes when I watch a film, I say to myself 'That's horrible - but it's just a film' but this was true.

Hilary Swank does a good job as Brandon. She deserved that Oscar.

Lessons can be learned from this film, to treat other people with respect and not run scared becuase people are different. People need to be aware that this stuff really does happen.

I recommend this, but just beware what you're letting yourself in for.

9 out of 10 -Sproosey

This is not the story of a woman living as a man, because that would imply that this woman merely dressed up and fooled people. That's not at all what's going on.

This is the story of a male who thought male, felt male, and WAS male, but looked down at the body God gave him, and saw that of a female. It's not homosexuality, or cross-dressing. The name given to it, in the film, is Sexual Identity Crisis, but I don't really think it's a crisis. I don't think there's anything wrong with Brandon Teena, or Teena Brandon, thinking that. It is merely who he is.

And this movie did make me think about it, and that is its success. Powerful at times, repulsive at times, those whose lives this story affected may not approve of the final film, but it can still open the eyes of people toward things in this world that they previously might not have understood... which may help the next Brandon find and keep happiness in his or her life.

Worth seeing, but not for the weak of stomach or easily offended.

Boys Don't Cry was a major success with the critics and the Academy Award's, so I looked forward to seeing it. Easily one of the best films of the past year, Boys Don't Cry is a moving experience that deserved all the credit it got, and then some.

The film takes for its source material the true story of Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank), a girl who, well, just wants to be a boy. A sex-changing (getting her hair cut and sticking a dildo down her pants) credit sequence sees our hero(ine) at first on the pull, duping a local girl into a bit of nookie, and then on the run, when the truth about her sexuality rears its bizarre head. A fugitive of the law, as well as a few irate townsfolk, a twist of fate leads to her befriending a bunch of trailer-trash misfits and, temporarily, enjoying a new-found freedom under her manly guise. Of course, it's all going to go horribly wrong - particularly when she falls in love with the local girlie sweetheart (Chloe Sevigny).

Chloe Sevigny, who plays the girl Brandon falls in love with, deserved to win an Academy Award. Her performance still lives in my memory, and it has been some time since I first saw Boys Don't Cry. Hilary Swank, who did receive an Oscar, pulls off an absolute barnstormer of a performance as Brandon Teena, it is easily one of the boldest and most memorable performances I saw in the 20th century. Kimberley Pierce is also another stand-out, she is in the director's chair, and she hardly got any praise for her amazing effort that she put into this film. I applaud everyone involved in Boys Don't Cry, even the one's who got little credit, particularly Brendan Sexton III (who plays a trouble-making misfit) and Andy Bienen (co-writer).

Groundbreaking performances and a brilliant debut directing effort make this film unmissable.

I rate Boys Don't Cry 9 out of 10.

I was stunned by the simplicity and power of this fine film. It tells the true and tragic story of Teena Brandon/Brandon Teena, a woman living as a man in a small town in Nebraska. No matter what your personal opinions may be, this film does not preach. It tells the story in a matter-of-fact, honest and gritty way, but leaves you shaking your head in shock that such anger and hatred exists in these modern times, for someone who is "different" merely because of their sexual preference.

Relative newcomer Hilary Swank gives a heartfelt and courageous performance as Brandon. I say courageous not only because of the subject matter, but also because she is able to strip away her youthful, movie star glamour and become the character she plays. She is entirely convincing. Also, she shows a tremendous amount of guts for being able to get through the gut-wrenchingly violent rape scene. This was a brave choice, and a wise one.

Chloe Sevigny plays Lana, the girl Brandon loves. She is the only person who truly understands Brandon. Brandon finds himself in a world of drunken trailer trash and convicted felons. No one is free from guilt, but there is always the unspoken sin of being different. Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny play their tastefully erotic love scenes without seeming self-conscious. So many actors of their generation might be afraid to tackle these types of roles, but they do their jobs with aplomb.

The film was another that haunted me the day after seeing it. Kimberly Peirce manages to make a simple film about a very difficult subject, and she doesn't resort to Hollywood gloss or preachiness. It is a risky film, very difficult to watch in places, with several very violent and disturbing scenes. It is a story that needs to be told, and with the two Oscar-nominated performances from Ms. Swank and Ms. Sevigny, it succeeds.