Boys Don't Cry Review
by Akiva Gottlieb (akiva AT excite DOT com)October 2nd, 1999
Boys Don't Cry ****
rated R
Fox Searchlight Pictures
114 minutes
starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III, Alison Folland, Alicia Goranson, Matt McGrath, Rob Campbell, Jeanna Arnette written by Andy Bienen and Kimberly Peirce
directed by Kimberly Peirce
"Boys Don't Cry", the debut film of Kimberly Peirce, is probably the most emotionally draining picture I will see all year. Having read the news stories on which this film is based, I knew how it all was going to end. But that didn't lessen the powerful impact which this film had on me. It is admittedly a very difficult film to watch, and one that I cannot recommend to all viewers. However, if you are looking for a gripping portrait of Americana gone bad, then "Boys Don't Cry" is the film you need to see.
If you do not know the heartbreaking story of Brandon Teena, then I will ask you to read no further than this paragraph. It is impossible to review this film without discussing the ending. But if you know how the story ends, the film's strong emotional bond is not weakened.
"Boys Don't Cry" explores the life of Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) from the day he wanders into Falls City, Nebraska, until the day of his grisly death a few months later. Brandon is really a girl named Teena who is in the midst of a sexual identity crisis. One night, after having lesbian slurs thrown at her, she decides to cut her hair and dress like a man. She goes roller skating and ends the night making out with a beautiful blonde.
The next night, she tries it again, and she meets John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendan Sexton III), who take Brandon to a party in their hometown, Falls City. The next day, Brandon wakes up and realizes that he's still there. That night, at a karaoke bar, he gets his first glimpse of Lana (Chloe Sevigny), the most beautiful girl in town.
John, the tough guy who has just got out of prison, resides in Lana's house with her mother (Jeanna Arnette) and his young daughter. John has no impulse control, and can often go into unprecedented fits of wild rage. He immediately takes a liking to the girlish Brandon, but one can see how he slowly begins to notice his true identity.
Brandon and Lana slowly form a convincing relationship. Like characters in every small town movie, Lana is bored with her life, and needs someone to help open her eyes. This helps explain why later in the film, when she finds out who Brandon really is, she decides to stay with him/her. Brandon is known as the nice, slightly awkward guy in town, and Lana likes his sense of newness in her world of familiar people. All the questions about how their relationship functions sexually are explained in the film, so I won't go into detail.
Things are going quite well for Brandon in his new life, until he misses a court date in Lincoln for a grand theft auto which occurred a while back. Soon his past life of fake IDs and crime catches up with him, and he finds himself in prison...in the girls ward.
Kimberly Peirce presents every stage of this tragedy flawlessly, and she doesn't do it alone. Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny are excellent together; each one bringing such emotional honesty to their role. In a better world, Swank would be a shoo in for an Oscar nomination, but "Boys Don't Cry" is too explicit and truthful a film to win such an award.
"Boys Don't Cry" retells one of the most important stories of the 1990's, one that Peirce recreates down to every detail. She spent ages of research on this project, and even made Hilary Swank live as a man for a number of weeks. It is a breakout film for everyone involved, and can stand tall as one of 1999's very best.
The tragic ending to this gritty tale is one that will continue to be discussed. How could we live in such a homophobic society that a girl must dress as a boy in order to be accepted, and then die for her actions? People try to fit in in different ways, with different results. The saddest thing about "Boys Don't Cry" is that it really is just another murder story, one that happens every day in all parts of the world, but makes us turn our head away.
a review by Akiva Gottlieb
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