Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) is a young woman who refuses to accept that she's a woman and uses the male alias of Brandon Teena. Teena dresses like a man, has her hair cut short and uses various 'accessories' to make her look like a man. Teena finds love when she meets Lana Tisdel (Chloe Sevigny) who is unaware that Teena is really a woman. Things come to a head and take a dangerous turn when Lana's friends and family discover Teena's secret...I've heard stories about woman and men whom have a sexually identity crisis; a man feeling as though they are trapped inside a woman's body and vice versa, but it's not really a subject that I know a great deal about it (and I suspect that it's something that most people will neither understand nor be able to relate to). This is clearly what Teena suffered from and being seen as a guy and hanging out with the guys made her happy and in her own mind she saw this as living a normal existence.Perhaps that's part of the reason that I found it interesting; the fact that I know so little about it and the film does give some insight into how this type of disorder affects the individual. This part of the story resonated with me because I did think to myself that it must be genuinely awful for those people that live their lives feeling as though they are trapped in the wrong body; of course there is gender reassignment as an option, but that's quite a big step to take and presumably it doesn't come cheap either so for most individuals the only viable option will be to pretend like Teena Brandon.Like a lot of biopics, Boys Don't Cry does play loose with some of the facts; for example in the film it shows that Lana and Teena's relationship continued after Lana discovers Teena's secret, but in actuality this didn't happen - allegedly the real Tisdel sued the filmmakers for misrepresentation. This revelation confirmed some of my suspicions about the film being a bit phony as I felt that Lana's reaction to Teena's discovery didn't reflect the way that a normal person would react to quite a major shocking discovery. In some ways I can understand why the filmmakers chose to show Lana and Teena in a relationship throughout the film; it keeps the audience more involved in the story and also makes the powerful and brutal ending more emotional - at least it did for me as I found myself emotionally involved in the story.One other thing I found puzzling is that Lana never challenged Teena about her being a compulsive liar - yes some of it was necessary in order for her to keep her secret, but some of her lies were delusional grandeur and it made me wonder why someone would trust and want to be with someone whom they know to be a compulsive liar? Having said all that, I can't deny that this was a pretty involving film about a subject that many people won't understand or be able to relate to.However, despite the fact that it plays loose with some of the facts it does enough to open our eyes on what it's like for an individual suffering from a gender identity crisis. It won't be for everyone, but I thought that it was a pretty good film.

This movie directed by Kimberly Peirce, dramatizes the tragic events that took place in December 1993 in Lincoln, Nebraska and made news headlines around the nation. This film follows 21-year old girl named Teena Brandon (played by Hilary Swank) who lives with her cousin Lonny (played by Matt McGrath) in Lincoln, Nebraska. Sporting a short hairstyle, platted shirt, jeans, and some boots, Teena adopts a male identity and goes under the 'Brandon Teena'. He begins living his life as a boy and travels to a small of Falls City, Nebraska where he attempts to true love and falls in love with beautiful girl named Lana Tisdel (played by Chloe Sevigny). Making an effort to keep his true gender a secret, Brandon ventures his nights through drinking, sex, and street racing with Lana and her friends Candice (played by Alicia Goranson), John Lotter (played by Peter Sarsgard), and Tom Nissen (played by Brenden Sexton). However, when everyone soon discovers he is hiding his true gender, his life makes a turn for the worse and his relationship with Lana is deeply put to the test. The title of the film is taken from 'Boys Don't Cry" by the rock band The Cure.This film tackles on some heavy subject matter about transgender and the story is very thought-provoking enough for viewers raise questions dealing with the subject matter, especially since this is based on events that happened in real life. Director Kimberly Peirce and the writers with the story as well as the characters very genuine and maturely, and I think it pays a good tribute to the real-life story of Teena Brandon. The characters are beautifully written, the main character Brandon Teena (or Teena Brandon) in particular, and the story really comes to life by an amazing, if not excellent script. Hilary Swank's performance is nothing short of fantastic, she really brings such light to her role and viewers can tell that she is really committed to the role. The fact that she won an Oscar for her performance is no surprise. The rest of cast did quite a credible job as well. Then the story moves pretty good throughout its the film's run and manages to stay intriguing for the most time. The first half of the film is very light-hearted and soft-spoken, then the second half gets quite powerful and upsetting in tone. As the themes of the film are heavy, there are some scenes that get quite poignant and aggressively uncomfortable to watch, especially for viewers who have dealt with similar situations. But overall, this film really honest and grounded in a way where viewers are able to connect with the characters and the story. The only real flaw with the film is that it fails to explain the reason behind the Brandon's transgender or her background that gives hints as to why she adopted a male identity to begin with.Boys Don't Cry is a powerful and thought-provoking. The performances are amazing and the writing is quite awe-inspiring. This is a film that is important to watch, but something I would only recommend to mature viewers due to the intense subject matter and tone that not all viewers could handle too easy.

Despite the director/writer good intentions, the movie as a whole turns out to be too muddled : there is no clear line, you just drift inside this group with absolutely no dramatic tension except at the end when everything accelerates tragically. This type of subject must be tackled with grip which isn't the case here, scenes follow each other in a boring monotony and there is a terrible lack of identification with the characters especially Brandon, perfectly embodied by Hillary Swank. After barely 45 minutes, all hope for this real story is lost and the outcome therefore comes off as a great relief for a long and unproductive movie.

I often wonder this. This film is the story of Brandon a girl who only feels right when passing off as a boy. What many people don't know is that he has no control over this it's just god gave him the wrong parts. Because of trying to be true to himself and following the girl he loves what follows is him being beat, raped, and tortured. This film shows how Lana fell in love with Brandon not because of his looks or that he is really a she but plane and simple he treated her better then she had ever been treated. This love story takes off but comes to a screeching halt. What John did to Brandon will stick in my head forever it's so hard to believe there is so much evil in this world. I would also like to say this is one of the most important films of all time. This is a film I will show to my kids, there kids and so on because I will make sure that they respect and love people for who they are. I pray for the day when we not only accept our diffeences but we actually celebrate our divercity.