Boys don't cry, you will
by Michael Alian, Outpost Staff
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Hilary Swank and Cloe Sevigny star in "Boys Don't Cry" a disturbing story of confusion and murder. Courtesy: FOX Searchlight Pictures |
No one will leave the theater without crying after experiencing "Boys Don't Cry." Even more, anyone will be crying on the inside. Not just because of superb performances by everyone in the film but because of the film's disturbingly realistic images of white trash ignorance.
Before even setting foot into the theater, you know "Boys Don't Cry" is based on the real life of Teena Brandon. The teenage girl from Lincoln, Nebraska, is suffering from a gender identity crisis. She desperately wants to live as a boy. Teena is so desperate to be male, she cuts her hair and wraps her breasts. This makes Brandon look just like a boy. So much so, she passes as a guy with the name Brandon Teena. A simple, adolescent way of reinforcing her masculinity.
Hilary Swank ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The Next Karate Kid") is Brandon Teena head to toe. "Boys Don't Cry" is the perfect vehicle to catapult her dramatic acting career. Swank already received a Golden Globe award for her portrayal of Brandon Teena. But that award pales in comparison with her well-deserved Academy Award for Best Actress.
Swank's masculine facial features and one of a kind grin allows you to feel her pain. The pain of wanting so badly to be male. The pain of wanting so badly to fit in.
Brandon Teena does fit-in with a crowd from the nearby town of Falls City. But fitting in costs him his life. Teena is first befriended by Candace (Alicia Goranson from TV's "Rosanne"). Goranson is deceptively naive as the single mother living in Falls City. Soon Teena is sucked-in to the close-minded world that is rural Nebraska.
Swank is surrounded by exceptional actors. Peter Sarsgaard is the demonic John Lotter. The real John Lotter is now on death row. Brendan Sexton III is equally frightening as Lotter's always drunk or stoned friend and killing partner.
Rated R
Cloe Sevigny plays Lana, Brandons love interest. She
really belongs to Lotter but can't stay away from Brandon.
Brandon is not just any boy to Lana. Sevigny molds the ideal
disturbed teenager, Lana, complete with sullen expressions
and a true aura of despair.
1 hour 54 minutes
FOX Searchlight Pictures
First-time director Kimberly Pierce makes you feel just how desperate every character is in "Boys Don't Cry."
Brandon is desperate to really be a boy.
Lana is desperate to really be loved.
Candace is desperate to really have a friend in Brandon.
John and Tom are both desperate to vent their anger on anyone and everything.
That duo of actors convinces you they really are backwards-thinking Nebraska boys. The pair is shocking.
Even more shocking is the graphic re-enactment of the rape of Brandon. It was horrific and not tastefully executed. It was real. Even more real is the double murder scene of Brandon and Candace. The screaming and the begging not to be gunned down is almost too real.
"Boys Don't Cry" is based on a true story. That makes the entire film most disturbing. Teena Brandon aka Brandon Teena was a teenager in distress; a teenager searching for an identity- male or female. She lost her life because of her overwhelming desire to fit in. She lost her life because no one was able to recognize her self-destructive path.
Hopefully, "Boys Don't Cry" will open your eyes to the desperation suffered by any teenager in Teena Brandon's position. This movie is so real, it's frightening. Frightening enough to save someone else from Teena's fate.
Posted March 31, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Outpost
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