The first movie that I want to review is also probably the most well known, and that’s saying something. Boys Don’t Cry is the 1999 drama which won Hilary Swank a VERY well-deserved Oscar for Best Actress.
The film is based on the true story of Teena Brandon/ Brandon Teena, a pre-op female to male transgender who was murdered in 1993 in Nebraska while posing as an anatomically normal male. Swank is truly phenomenal in this role, even the viewer must admit that she is thoroughly convincing as a man. The supporting cast is also strong, with Chloe Sevigny as Lana, the girl Brandon dates, and Peter Sarsgaard as John Lotter, the man who befriends, but later rapes and murders Brandon.
If the film has any weakness, it is that it does little to explain Brandon’s life before meeting Lana and John or trangendered people in general. There is no real explanation as to why Brandon would choose to live as a boy. Was he transgendered, a hermaphrodite, or was he simply a lesbian in disguise? A person less familiar or sympathetic to the transgendered would likely not view Brandon very favorably. Although I don’t believe that any movie should portray a character as an angel just to avoid stereotyping, there are points in the movie where Brandon comes across more as a daredevil pushing his luck rather than a transgendered man trying to get by in an unsympathetic environment.
Politics aside, Boys Don’t Cry is a beautiful piece of filmmaking which tells the story of one person trying to live a normal life in very unnormal circumstances. Since it is based on a true story, there is no need to try to avoid spoilers, going into this you should know that Brandon does not survive. But like Milk, another excellent film about the life of a doomed LGBT American, the lack of suspense does nothing to stop you from being engrossed in this fascinating tale of love, hate, death, and life.
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