Boys Don't Cry

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) driving in the night. He is going with his cousin, Lonny (Matt McGrath), an older boy who is gay, to a skating rink. Lonny warns Brandon against behaving dangerously. Brandon ignores him and enters the rink, which seems magical to him. There Brandon meets with a girl. Later, we see them kissing outside her home, and Brandon chivalrously tells her he won't leave until he knows she is safely inside. But later, Brandon is chased by a group of young men, one of whom is related to the girl, and all of whom are yelling homosexual-related insults and threats. Brandon seeks protection in Lonny's trailer, and if the audience doesn't know it already, the conversation reveals that Brandon is actually a girl who wants to live as a boy. Lonny tells Brandon that he wants him to find somewhere else to stay. There are hints that Brandon is in trouble with the law and has been ostracized by his immediate family.Later, Brandon seeks solace at a bar where he flirts with a girl named Candace (Alicia Goranson). He picks a fight with a large man who is hitting on Candace, and ends up getting hit several times. John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard), a friend of Candace and her family, joins the fight, and flees with Brandon and Candace, with all laughing together in a nearby alley. Brandon is clearly energized by suddenly having allies. Brandon goes to Falls City, Nebraska, home of Candace, Lotter and another friend, Tom Nissen (Brendan Sexton III). Brandon stays at the home of Candace, who has a crush on Brandon.Brandon hangs out with Lotter, Nissen and Candace, and through them meets Candace's sister, Lana Tisdel (Chloë Sevigny). He falls for Lana while watching her sing karaoke with her sisters. Lana is, at first, indifferent to Brandon's presence, though Brandon is clearly smitten.Brandon loves his new life and new friends, but has not dealt with the legal issues back home. He misses an important court date, and carries the court summons in his pocket, which states his real name: Teena Brandon. Brandon also has a period, and goes to a gas station to steal tampons. While there, he meets up with a very stoned Lana, and protects her from an aggressive truck driver. He also flatters her regarding her karaoke skills.Lana is from an unstable home, with a mother (Jeanetta Arnette) who loves to party during the day with Lotter and Nissen. Lotter reveals to Brandon that when he was in prison, Lana wrote him regularly. Lana later reveals that she was only 13 when Lotter was in prison. Lana's mother likes Brandon very much, and Brandon lies to her, saying his mother and sister are living in Hollywood, where his sister is a model. Lana's mother says Brandon himself is beautiful enough to be a model.Lotter proves to be very irrational and volatile, treating Brandon at times like a beloved younger brother, and other times berating him. Lotter shows love for his own child, but then engage in dangerous behavior, like encouraging the baby to drink beer, and then become enraged when the baby pees on him. Nissen claims to be the only one who can control Lotter.Brandon shows up at the packing plant where Lana works nights and gets her attention during her smoking break. She sneaks out and the two have an intense sexual encounter on a blanket in a field near the plant. At one point, Lana sees down Brandon's shirt and, therefore, sees Brandon's wrapped-down breasts. But the sexual encounter continues, and Lana talks about it glowingly later to her sisters.Realizing he has to deal with his overdue legal issues back home, Brandon steals a check from Candace and forges her signature to get cash to pay his fine. But while paying the fine, the clerk realizes there is a bench warrant out for the arrest of Teena Brandon. Brandon is jailed, and is put in the women's section of the Falls City prison. At this same time, Candace finds a used tampon under the mattress of Brandon's bed, the court summons with the name "Teena Brandon", and pants that have been stained with blood in the crotch. Confused and saddened, she goes to a bar to drink, and after cajoling from Lotter and Nissen, tells them what she's found. They find a newspaper that talks about the arrest of Teena Brandon, and show it to Lana's mother.Meanwhile, Brandon has written Lana to tell her that he's in jail. She asks why Brandon is in the female section, and he lies: he tells her he was born a hermaphrodite, but will soon receive a sex change operation to correct his condition. Lana declares her love for Brandon, "no matter what she is" and the two leave the jail joyously, then have sex in her car.Nissen and Lotter are extremely angered by the discovery that Brandon is really a girl -- in their opinion, she is a lesbian. They are on a rampage looking for Brandon, whom they find at Lana's mother's house, together with Lana. They force Brandon to strip off his pants, to reveal to Lana his "true" identity. Lana only looks when forced to. Later, Nissen and Lotter pursue Brandon and violently rape him in Nissen's car. They return with Brandon to Nissen's house. Although injured, Brandon escapes from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window. Lana convinces him to file a police report, though Brandon had been warned by Nissen and Lotter to remain silent. Brandon, in distress files a report.Later, in a drunken rage, Nissen and Lotter set out to kill Brandon. They find Brandon hiding in a farm house with Candace and her baby. Brandon and Candace are fatally shot, while Lana is screaming desperately. Lana falls asleep and is woken up the next morning by her mother.The film ends with Lana leaving Falls City as a letter of Brandon's (sent to Lana before he died) is read in a voice-over.

Tags: murder, dramatic, violence, queer, flashback, tragedy, sentimental

Review:
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 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.
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.
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.
Similarly, Lana, the young woman with whom Brandon falls in love and the one person who has ever accepted Brandon unconditionally for what she is, suffers from a number of her own demons.Credit writer/director Kimberly Pierce and co-writer Andy Bienen for not taking the easy commercial path of reducing the moral complexities of the personalities involved to a black-and-white world where good and evil are displayed in neatly arranged patterns for our easy consumption.
It is a chilling reminder of the danger of the mob mentality unrestrained by empathy and enlightenment.Like so many of the best off-Hollywood independent productions,  `Boys Don't Cry' finds its truth in two crucial elements:  the canny depiction of  the bleak sterility and stifling provincialism of its Midwest setting  and the uniformly first-rate performances by a largely unknown set of actors.Hilary Swank, in her Oscar-winning turn as Brandon, and Chloe Sevigny as Lana achieve a naturalism in their portrayals that neutralizes any theatricality that might have robbed the film of its indispensable quality of immediacy and believability.
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.
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.
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..
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.
Like many others, I was tremendously impressed by the performance of Hilary Swank  but I think the glue that holds the film together and gives it amazing hope and humanity is Chloe Sevigny.
All I really knew about the film was that it was based on a true story about a woman who lived his life and as a man and was brutally raped and murdered in 1993.
Out of all the true stories that Hollywood has put on film, this stands out, mostly because of its disturbingly honest presentation and unforgettable performances that even the real-life characters that there based on even said how real they were.
The bulk of the film showcases Brandon and Lana's growing relationship, and first-time co-writer/director Kimberly Pierce handles this so beautifully despite the addition of a graphic sex scene, which the real Lana Tisdel reports never happened.
Pierce makes the story so compelling from the beginning that the film doesn't become a simple cross-dressing tale but of a powerful examination of a human being who was just different and also of the friends that he made who just wouldn't accept him for who he really was (all of them except for Lana, who surprisingly does).
Still, what really makes this sleeper praiseworthy are the performances, starting with Hilary Swank's moving, perfectly tuned potrayal of Brandon, who recieved the well-deserved Best Actress, as well as a long list of other honors.
Chloe Sevigny, who I've fallen in love with in every film I've seen her in (from her breakout role as an AIDS victim in the controversial 1995 film KIDS, to her shy and smart lead character in last year's underrated THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO) shines as Lana, and has won a score of acting honors as well.
Peter Sarsgaard and Brendan Sexton III are fine as the antagonists John and Tom, and finally Jeanette Arnette is great in a smallish role as Lana's mother who, of course, turns the other way at her daughter's new boyfriend.Although some viewers may be turned off at the high volume of profanity and rape sequences, this film should be given a chance if not only for the fact of it being a true story, but also for it's respect to a unique and unfairly misjudged human being who didn't live his life to the fullest..
Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) is a girl who wishes to become a boy Arriving in the small Nebraska town of Falls City, Teena binds her breasts, cuts her hair and calls herself Brandon Teena When Brandon meets Lana (wonderfully played by Chloë Sevigny), a love affair develops in the course of which sexual identities and gender stereotype is turned upside down Eventually Lana comes to realize Brandon is anatomically female, but by then she does not care Brandon offers her a caring relationship such as she has never known Unfortunately, Brandon's secret is eventually discovered by two young men, John and Tom, who have befriended him The knowledge that they have been deceived is deeply disturbing to their male pride The film is based on a true story, which also the subject of a documentary, 'The Brandon Teena Story' (1998).
But it is less its status as a true-crime document, more its subtle power to subvert our usual assumptions about sexuality that makes this a notable film, and a key text of the so-called 'queer' cinema Unlike militant films which proselytize for homosexuality, 'queer' films adopt a more insidious strategy, seeking to undermine such rigid categories as gay and straight Thus Brandon, in Hilary Swank's excellent interpretation of the role, alert to all the ambiguities, is not a lesbian though he/she has sex with women And while he/she has adopted some of the physical attributes of a man (clothes, hair-style, certain mannerisms), Brandon has retained a softness and sensuality which implies a critique of conventional masculinity, and which is the secret of his/her sexual success with women No wonder he arouses the rage of other men.
Boys Don't Cry is one of the most gripping and brutal dramas ever made, and it stands the test of time thanks to its audacity and its brilliant central performance, courtesy of the heartbreaking Hilary Swank.Swank stars as Teena Brandon, a 20-year old girl from Lincoln, Nebraska, who's right in the middle of a "sexual identity crisis" (her own words).
The last one plays a significant part in the third act, as some of the characters' (most notably John, cunningly played by Peter Sarsgaard) fear of something they don't understand will have tragic consequences.Director Kimberly Peirce tells this painful true story without judging anyone, so that the performances can speak for themselves: Swank is staggering in a role rivaled only by her equally tear-inducing turn in Million Dollar Baby (she deservedly won an Oscar for both performances).
The supporting players excel as well, Sevigny (who was Oscar-nominated for the role of Lana) and Sarsgaard delivering the first of many riveting contributions to independent cinema.Consistently moving, occasionally hard to watch (there's a rape scene which might upset the weak of stomach), Boys Don't Cry is a daring, powerful effort that demands to be seen.
Hilary Swank's is a truly exceptional performance: gut-wrenchingly real, winning you over with her stunning ability to create a living character that is so real one forgets that one is watching fiction.
Boys Don't Cry is an ambitious movie, which chronicles the tragedy of a transgender attempt by its main character, played by Hilary Swank, to be the male she believes she was meant to be.
Hilary Swank's performance is first class and well deserving of the Oscar, she portrays Brandon as the young adventurer who after finding himself is brutally slain, with vivid honesty and daring realism.
As rich in themes and life lessons as it is compelling, the film works on a number of levels and is topped off by a truly excellent cast of young performers that give it their all and help to ensure that Boys Don't Cry is the success that it so richly deserves to be.
The film follows the intriguing, and oddly true, story of Brandon Teena, or rather Teena Brandon; a girl who is in the midst of a gender identity crisis and decides to live her life as a boy.
After finding a young man and woman in a bar, Brandon quickly finds herself on her way to a small town in Nebraska, where she quickly becomes friends with the locals...all the while harbouring her secret.When it comes to good films that are directed by women, there isn't many to list; but Boys Don't Cry is certainly one that belongs towards the top of that short list.
Swank picked up an Oscar for her performance in this movie, and that momentous event represents one of the few times that the Academy has given the award to the right person.
Since then, director and screenwriter Kimberly Pierce spun this tragedy into a suspenseful motion picture destined to amplify intolerance in the way `Schindler's List' portrayed the holocaust.Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank), or Teena Brandon, grew up most of her life as a girl.
The film forces you to think, and for some people that can be a problem.Be forewarned: this is not the feel-good movie of the decade; it was never meant to be that way.
lana saw brandon for who he was as a person.this film is a disturbing and powerful film that should be shown all over the world to stop people with differences being treated like wild animals..
I for one could not think of a better actress to play the role of the real life hero, Tina Brendon!Thank you Hilary Swank, i cannot recommend this film enough!.
Not only because of the strong sexuality and violence, but also because of its serious thematics and the way it treats these subjects, "Boys Don't Cry" is the strongest film of '99.The story, which has been shocking many people, is about a girl named Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) who dresses like and considers herself a boy, and changes her name for Brandon Teena.
Many things will happen, and I'm not able to tell this here, even this being a true story.What is special in this film is that we forget that it is based on real life.
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.
Story of doomed Brandon Teena is retold with care and insight (although the climax was restructured for 'dramatic purposes'), and director Kimberly Pierce examines stifling small-town life in vivid and painful ways.
Brandon, (portrayed wonderfully by Hilary Swank) the proverbial "man trapped inside a woman's body," is undoubtedly intended as the story's protagonist, but aside from the love he feels for Lana (another fine performance from Chloe Sevigny), he possesses no admirable characteristics; he is profoundly stupid in the choices he makes, and doesn't seem to realize just how precarious his position is.
This is one of the most confronting, disturbing and brilliant movies of our time.This is true story about Brandon Teena, a person whose living a very complex and dysfunctional life.
I remember Swank saying that she had to physically live like a man for a certain amount of time, so she could capture who Brandon Teena was.
Remember they are still human beings, whether they think they are a man or a woman.I can understand that some people might not like some of the content that is in this movie, but I question if people simply hate the entire film.
I might also add that sexual choices and differences do not offend me in any way.Also, for those who think I don't know my ass from my elbow, if you truly want to see a female actor playing a convincing male watch Linda Hunt's performance of Billy Kwan in `The Year of Living Dangerously.'  Nuff said..
Hilary Swank was so brilliant in her role, but so too were the remainder of the cast, especially Chloe Sevigny.After seeing this film, I felt like how I did when I saw "Once Were Warriors" for the first time.
Brandon falls in love with a local girl but when his secret is revealed, the two low-life male friends he's made viciously assault him (in one of the fiercest rape scenes ever put on film).
Following actual events pretty closely, director Kimberly Peirce and her co-writer Andy Bienen pick up Brandon Teena's story from his move to Falls City, Nebraska, where Brandon meets and falls in love with local girl, Lana.
But in my opinion the best in this movie are the performances: Hillary Swank is a convincing heartbreaker lad (she definitely deserved that oscar), and, of course, Chloë Sevigny.
In the end, "Boys Don't Cry" is saved from mediocrity by the compelling tragedy of the story, and the strong performances of Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Peter Sarsgaard.I recommend viewers watch the movie first and learn about the actual case second, as I did.
I was absolutely shocked by one of the events at the end of the movie, and the film had more of an impact on me than it would have if I'd known exactly what was going to happen.The real Teena Brandon has probably been lost forever in the dramatization of her/his life and the subsequent political crossfire.
If only Brandon would of left that night......why didn`t he leave?I truly believe Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny have played the best and most important roles to be portrayed in this time.
It makes you wonder was Brandon more powerful for having the heart to be who felt he really was or for going back to Falls City to be with Lana?!All you need is sympathy, compassion and a little bit understanding to love this movie and if you don`t its because you`re an example of why Brandon could not live the way he wanted to.Only God knows why this tragedy has become pure brilliance!.
The movie is based on true events of the brutal rape and murder of Teena Bradon (Bradon Teena) in 1993.The hardships that Brandon (or Teena) had to deal with were captured more than perfectly by Hilary Swank, and the heartbreak and confusion of his girlfriend Lana Tisdel (Chloë Sevigny) are played with raw passion that have you gripping onto something to keep yourself from being bowled over by awe.Kimberly Peirce directed this movie with passion, emotion and such fire that it captivates you within the first few moments.
The story of the life of Brandon Teena, a transsexual teen who preferred life in a male identity until it was discovered he was born biologically female.Boys Don't Cry is an outstanding film.
It was one of the most alarming and important films of the year, Swank's performance as the young 'boy' Brandon Teena is a star-making turn, the centers and foundation of Kimberly Peirce's startling debut film.
Chloe Sevigny who plays Lana (who falls in love with Brandon, thinking she's a man) is also top-noth as Swank's partner.
Brandon Teena (Two-Time Oscar Winner:Hilary Swank) is the popular new guy in a small Nebraska town.
Hilary Swank who played Teena Brandon in Boys Don't Cry was amazing.
Hilary Swank's unbelievable performance as Teena/Brandon will make any boy or girl cry.
Hilary Swank makes you love and want to protect Brandon as if he/she were your own child, and at the end I felt like I died with him/her.
As the film opens Teena (played by Hilary Swank) is making herself up to be the boy (Brendan) she always thought she should be.
Brandon Teena is played excellently by Hilary Swank in a dynamite, Oscar-winning performance.
Hilary Swank's acting alone make this film worth watching.