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Boys Don't Cry (1-Oct-1999)
Director: Kimberly Peirce Writers: Kimberly Peirce; Andy Bienen Music by: Nathan Larson Producers: Jeffrey Sharp; John Hart; Eva Kolodner; Christine Vachon Keywords: Drama, Biography, Crossdressing, Gay Bashing, Rape In smalltown Nebraska, 20-year-old Teena Brandon, biological female, manipulates her physical features and becomes a boy with the name Brandon Teena; he and Lana Tisdel fall in love, though Brandon has hidden his true nature. Compelling and painful art-house drama based on the true events from 1993. Won an Oscar for Best Actress; received also a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
CAST | Hilary Swank | ... Brandon Teena | | Chloe Sevigny | ... Lana Tisdel | | Peter Sarsgaard | ... John Lotter | | Brendan Sexton III | ... Tom Nissen | | Alison Folland | ... Kate | | Alicia Goranson | ... Candace | | Matt McGrath | ... Lonny | | Rob Campbell | ... Brian | | | and | | Jeanetta Arnette | ... Lana's Mom | | | Cheyenne Rushing | ... Nicole | | Robert Prentiss | ... Trucker | | Josh Ridgway | ... Kwik Stop Cashier | | Craig Erickson | ... Trucker in Kwik Stop | | Stephanie Sechrist | ... April | | Jerry Haynes | ... Judge | | Lou Perryman | ... Sheriff | | Lisa Wilson | ... Pam | | Jackson Kane | ... Sam Phillips | | Joseph Gibson | ... Tom | | Michael Tripp | ... Nerdy Teen | | Shana McClendon | ... Girl in Car | | Libby Villari | ... Nurse | | Paige Carl Griggs | ... Dave (Deputy) | | Gail Cronauer | ... Clerk |
REVIEWS Review by anonymous (posted on 20-Apr-2005) I loved this movie. I have a
brother who is gay and we too come from a small town. It proves how
people who are confused about their sexuality are treated and how small
minded people think. I rated this four stars because the actors in this
movie did and outstanding job proving just how hard trying to fit in
can be. RIP Teena Brandon... you're always in my heart.
Review by Walter Frith (posted on 9-Jun-2007) The untimely
death of Matthew Sheppard in Wyoming a few years ago made headlines
around the world. Sheppard was killed for no other reason other than
the fact that he was gay. 'Boys Don't Cry' focuses on the same subject
matter and reverses genders in its story of friendship gone terribly
wrong and is also based on a true story. It attempts to follow a
similar path in the way it looks pursuant to the 1991 film 'My Own
Private Idaho' which starred Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix. That film
was about a male prostitute making his way around the country and
finding whoever he could in order to make a living selling his body.
While different from 'Boys Don't Cry' in its subject matter, it still
looks and feels very similar. Actress Hilary Swank is scooping up
virtually every major award for her portrayal of Teena Brandon, a
lonely ne'er-do-well that has had run ins with the law and is
struggling sexually to find her identity. She tries to pass herself off
as Brandon Teena, a man, and falls in love with someone that provides
tragic consequences. The film did disappoint me somewhat by surrounding
itself with American mid-western folks perceived as white trash. Some,
of course, are but there is good and bad in everyone and the film has
no positive characters in it, they are all deeply flawed individuals so
this makes the challenge of telling the story an uphill battle by
putting the audience in a very bleak story that will stay in their
minds long after the curtain drops. The characters in the film smoke
too much, drink too much (which includes giving beer to infants), dress
typically trashy and act with little regard for self respect, let alone
respect for anyone else. I suppose if the story is true, the right
circumstances have to be re-created but it still left me saying
"*blah*". The saving grace of this film is the acting. Teena Brandon
(Hilary Swank) is seen near the beginning of the film fleeing from
rednecks that want to kill her after she comes on as a man to a young
teenaged girl and has to hide with a friend who will protect her. She
has a date in court but may not show up which could lead to a bench
warrant issued for her arrest. Teena Brandon now becomes Brandon Teena
as she passes herself off as a man and makes friends with some equally
ne'er-do-wells. There are Tom and John (Brandon Sexton III and Peter
Sarsgaard) and the girl Teena falls in love with, Lana (Chloe Sevigny),
who is the only person that truly understands Teena and her performance
is a great supporting effort with good chemistry along side Hilary
Swank and the two of them are Oscar bound. They (all the young,
free-minded characters) joy ride without seat belts while drinking, the
girls wear too much make-up and look like they have had one too many
trips to the local donut shop and the mother of one of the girls shows
exactly where this bad behaviour on the part of her daughter and her
friends came from. The film is a series of emotions expressed by all
members of the cast as Teena's masquerade begins to fall apart and many
hateful and eventually harmful things happen to her. The film is
progressively honest and doesn't hold one false note in its portrayal
of these people and sophomore director Kimberly Peirce (1994's 'The
Last Good Breath') has found a raw and pinching nerve to rely on that
grabs the audience by the collar and doesn't let them go. The film is
bound to generate controversy. There is a rape scene that reminded me
of 1988's 'The Accused' with Jodie Foster. That film had Foster being
gang raped after teasing some men in a bar and some wondered if it was
really necessary to show the actual rape scene rather than imagine what
it would have been like for the victim. Sometimes what we don't see on
the screen can actually be more powerful than what we do see if the
actors can convey their emotions and act out the stories they are
telling. The audience I saw 'Boys Don't Cry' with sat stone faced
through its running time. I saw it at an art house with few seats in
the theatre, and with a crowd that obviously knows how to appreciate a
small, honest and low budgeted film like this. Definitely not a
mainstream motion picture, its conclusion will be discussed for years
among knowledgeable movie fans who see the performances as a work of
art and the work of true professionals. There is Oscar buzz being
generated and the cast deserves one big Oscar as none of them do it
alone. Uniquely satisfying! Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
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