Billy Elliot

Of all the movies I watched, none were as touching and uplifting as Billy Elliot. I admit, even I was a little reluctant to watch a movie about a young, working-class tough whose life is transformed when he secretly gives up boxing for ballet. Many obstacles must be overcome, including the disapproval of many of the people in young Billy’s life, especially his father. Not to mention the area he lives in is in the middle of the famous UK Miners Strike of 1984-1985.

What makes this movie more than just the typical (British) feel-good/against-the-odds film is the spectacular acting from all the characters, especially Jamie Bell, who plays the eleven year old title character. Bell was fourteen years old when he played the role of Billy, a role which won him a BAFTA (the British Oscar) for Best Actor. Julie Walters is also excellent as Billy’s no-nonsense, embittered ballet teacher; as is Gary Lewis as Billy’s father. My personal favorite character is Billy’s best friend Michael Caffrey (Stuart Wells). He is effeminate and gay, clearly out of place in a coal mining town, but the movie doesn’t dwell on that, just the touching friendship two awkward and out of place young boys, one straight, one gay, can create.

To sum it all up, Billy Elliot is the first movie in a long time that made me want to cry for joy. This is a movie that will make you laugh and cry in the best of ways. If I were Ebert, Siskel, or Roper, I’d give this film two very big thumbs up.

Movie Review: Boys Don't Cry

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.

Netflix for a Month!

As part of a Skype promotion, I got a free month’s supply of Netflix. So for most of June and July, I have been either working at my job at my local YMCA, then coming home and sitting on my ass all day watching Netflix, then going to sleep, then waking up the next day to start the cycle all over again. Needless to say, this hasn’t been good for either my social or blogging life. I decided to reclaim some of the latter now that my free month is over and I’ve disabled my Netflix account because I am a broke college student by blogging about some of the movies that I watched.

My taste in film is very eclectic, I love the classics, film noir, detective stories, action, horror, as well as documentaries, indie and foreign films, and queer cinema. I decided to blog about some of the films that most of you have probably never seen or even heard about. That means that most of these movies will some sort of combination of gay, indie, and/or foreign language films. Hope that you enjoy and discover a new favorite film!