Boys Don't Cry
In 1993, Teena Brandon was a sexually confused teenage woman living in Lincoln, Nebraska. Cutting her hair, finding herself in a new city, and changing her name to Brandon Teena, she passed herself off as a man and befriended a group of lower-class kids who adored the sweet and gentle new boy in town. Falling in love with one of the girls in the group, Brandon suddenly found it increasingly hard to hide his true identity. Struggling with his past and desperate in his current situation, Brandon's life was placed in jeopardy when his companions learned his true identity. This film is based on a true story.
Kimberly Peirce's picture BOYS DON'T CRY is nothing short of a monumental achievement in so-called "indie" filmmaking. So many films lately indulge themselves with laughable attempts at moral and high-mindedness. BOYS is the type of film that lays it all out, warts and all. It paints Brandon as a martyr, I'll fully admit that, but what the picture does with such dexterity is deliver a story so heartbreaking and so absolute that your body is numb for 112 minutes of screen time. I found only a handful of films have been able to achieve that this year. The fact that this narrative really happened six years ago sent a chill up my spine. Fiction can take you to limitless places. Fact nails you firmly to the Earth. Not enough movies dare you to enter the dark places in our own backyard.
But what would BOYS be without Hilary Swank? Nothing. This young actress was previously seen on BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and in the little seen (and gentle) feature THE NEXT KARATE KID. She's unknown to most people and that little fact alone is mainly the reason she is so brilliant as the doomed Brandon. It's tough to imagine a A-list name in the complex lead role. With Swank, you get an actress that can come out of left field and makes you accept with the rest of the characters that she is portraying a man. It goes far deeper that a short haircut and bonded breasts. That's easy. Swank is mesmerizing with her toothy grin and cut-glass jawbone. She submerges all her femininity and comes up with a believable male persona. Beautiful as a boy or a girl, I cannot fathom another performance quite like Swank's coming out of any current performer alive today. She is brilliant as Brandon Teena. A role, I would say, she was born to play.
Director Peirce backs Swank with a healthy cast of talented actors to play the white trash teens that befriend Brandon. Uttering a "Beer?" instead of a normal greeting like "Hello", both Peter Sarsgaard and Brendan Sexton III deliver menacing performances as the two men who instigate the violence toward Brandon. Long lost Alicia Goranson (TV's Becky on ROSEANNE) makes for a sweet presence as a shy girl attracted to Brandon. But it's really Chloe Sevigny (GUMMO, KIDS) who almost matches Swank in the acting department. It's her brave performance as Brandon's initially clueless lover that makes you want to cry. Deeply in love, yet conflicted with Brandon's sexual ambiguity, Sevigny is mighty to behold.
This being Peirce's debut feature, BOYS is often dramatically daring and optically unique. I like the way she portrays the small Nebraska town with a loving eye for the trashy, yet positive humanity of it's citizens. It's their deep loving nature that initially welcomes Brandon. It's their intolerance and stupidity that eventually brings him down. With almost every frame, Peirce makes strong statements about the duality of the cliched midwestern heart. I also give Peirce credit for making a rape scene horrifying without being exploitative. That's the sign of a director who cares about the audience.
BOYS DON'T CRY is spectacular picture. A truly involving piece of work that shines all around. As devastating as this story is, the film is always dramatically commanding. Kimberly Peirce is a new director to behold. She has delivered a art-house film that finally makes on it's promise to be truthful to the subject and never waver to the easy path. Don't miss this film.---------- 10
In 1993, Teena Brandon was a sexually confused teenage woman living in Lincoln, Nebraska. Cutting her hair, finding herself in a new city, and changing her name to Brandon Teena, she passed herself off as a man and befriended a group of lower-class kids who adored the sweet and gentle new boy in town. Falling in love with one of the girls in the group, Brandon suddenly found it increasingly hard to hide his true identity. Struggling with his past and desperate in his current situation, Brandon's life was placed in jeopardy when his companions learned his true identity. This film is based on a true story.
Kimberly Peirce's picture BOYS DON'T CRY is nothing short of a monumental achievement in so-called "indie" filmmaking. So many films lately indulge themselves with laughable attempts at moral and high-mindedness. BOYS is the type of film that lays it all out, warts and all. It paints Brandon as a martyr, I'll fully admit that, but what the picture does with such dexterity is deliver a story so heartbreaking and so absolute that your body is numb for 112 minutes of screen time. I found only a handful of films have been able to achieve that this year. The fact that this narrative really happened six years ago sent a chill up my spine. Fiction can take you to limitless places. Fact nails you firmly to the Earth. Not enough movies dare you to enter the dark places in our own backyard.
But what would BOYS be without Hilary Swank? Nothing. This young actress was previously seen on BEVERLY HILLS 90210 and in the little seen (and gentle) feature THE NEXT KARATE KID. She's unknown to most people and that little fact alone is mainly the reason she is so brilliant as the doomed Brandon. It's tough to imagine a A-list name in the complex lead role. With Swank, you get an actress that can come out of left field and makes you accept with the rest of the characters that she is portraying a man. It goes far deeper that a short haircut and bonded breasts. That's easy. Swank is mesmerizing with her toothy grin and cut-glass jawbone. She submerges all her femininity and comes up with a believable male persona. Beautiful as a boy or a girl, I cannot fathom another performance quite like Swank's coming out of any current performer alive today. She is brilliant as Brandon Teena. A role, I would say, she was born to play.
Director Peirce backs Swank with a healthy cast of talented actors to play the white trash teens that befriend Brandon. Uttering a "Beer?" instead of a normal greeting like "Hello", both Peter Sarsgaard and Brendan Sexton III deliver menacing performances as the two men who instigate the violence toward Brandon. Long lost Alicia Goranson (TV's Becky on ROSEANNE) makes for a sweet presence as a shy girl attracted to Brandon. But it's really Chloe Sevigny (GUMMO, KIDS) who almost matches Swank in the acting department. It's her brave performance as Brandon's initially clueless lover that makes you want to cry. Deeply in love, yet conflicted with Brandon's sexual ambiguity, Sevigny is mighty to behold.
This being Peirce's debut feature, BOYS is often dramatically daring and optically unique. I like the way she portrays the small Nebraska town with a loving eye for the trashy, yet positive humanity of it's citizens. It's their deep loving nature that initially welcomes Brandon. It's their intolerance and stupidity that eventually brings him down. With almost every frame, Peirce makes strong statements about the duality of the cliched midwestern heart. I also give Peirce credit for making a rape scene horrifying without being exploitative. That's the sign of a director who cares about the audience.
BOYS DON'T CRY is spectacular picture. A truly involving piece of work that shines all around. As devastating as this story is, the film is always dramatically commanding. Kimberly Peirce is a new director to behold. She has delivered a art-house film that finally makes on it's promise to be truthful to the subject and never waver to the easy path. Don't miss this film.---------- 10