Review - Boys Don't Cry

Almost every movie sets out to touch people emotionally. Whether they want to make you laugh or cry, scream or shocked, the goal of any movie is to invoke the "willing suspension of disbelief." If you come away from the movie feeling empty, then the film hasn't served its purpose. If you come away moved, then most likely it has.

You'd have to be a total putz to not be jarred by watching Boys Don't Cry. It's the tragic true story of Teena Brandon, who as a result of a "sexual identity crisis," poses as a boy named Brandon Teena. It's incredibly thorough it its portrayal, and of course has the main character played by a female, Hilary Swank.

To not spend most of this review talking about Swank would be insane. She amazed me throughout the whole film. I must say that I did my homework before seeing the film by renting the documentary The Teena Brandon Story, which includes clips of Brandon speaking to someone at a police station. That clip is portrayed in the film, and Swank sounds exactly like Brandon. It's amazing, seriously. For me, that alone sold me on her entire performance. I couldn't be happier about her Oscar nom now that I've seen the film.

I can't not mention Chloë Sevigny either. I mean, wow. I thought that Heather Donahue was Oscar-worthy, but that was before I saw this movie. I can't stop thinking about it; it's haunting and tragic and beautiful. Not flawless, but still wonderful. It had be transfixed, and sometimes I can have a pretty crummy attention span. Marvellous, marvellous, marvellous.

Grade - A-

Review Archives
Reviews Main Page