Boys Don't Cry (1999) 4 stars out of 4. Starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard and Brendon Sexton III. Directed by Kimberly Peirce.
Like most of us Teena Brandon was seeking love, yearning for that someone to hold her, comfort her, grow old with and accept her for who she was.
Unfortunately, Teena herself did not know who she was. But she did realize who she wanted to be.
Teena's true story is told in "Boys Don't Cry," a wrenching and tragic look at a confused individual searching for love as well as identity.
Teena admits to suffering from a "sexual identity crisis." Teena dresses like a man. She binds her breasts, stuffs a sock into the crotch of her blue jeans and cruises bars. She calls herself Brandon Teena.
Women are attracted to Brandon because he is non-threatening and treats them with respect and kindness.
Teena insists she is not a lesbian, that she is a man trapped in a woman's body. Her dream is to undergo sex transformation surgery.
Run out of her hometown of Lincoln, Neb., Teena as Brandon arrives in the small town of Falls City, Neb., where she befriends Lana (Chloe Sevigny) as well as Lana's crowd, which includes two ex-cons, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendon Sexton III).
All goes well for Brandon at first. His new friends treat him as one of the guys. They good naturedly tease Brandon about his slight demeanor to which he confesses to John and Tom that he is a "wuss." Even so, they accept him.
Complications arrive when Brandon and Lana fall in love, and when Brandon's past catches up with her.
The truth when revealed ignites a chain of events culminating in rape and murder.
"Boys Don't Cry" is a sensitive, compelling drama that will rivet you for its nearly two-hour run. It is a movie that will emotionally drain you while forcing you to confront your feelings about people who live outside what our society considers the norm.
It is unflinchingly brutal and candidly tender.
As Teena/Brandon Hilary Swank is a revelation. Best remembered as the star of "The Next Karate Kid", the last and weakest film in that unlamented series, she has come a long way from the young girl who only seemed to be able to glower, pout or smile.
Here she fleshes out a young person who seems at odds not only with the world, but with herself. Swank, lowering her voice and barely speaking above a whisper, always seems to be checking herself. She appears forever to be wanting to shed her skin.
Swank gives a poignant and courageous performance, one in which she is forced to expose herself physically as well as emotionally.
She seems to tiptoe through her world, afraid that at any moment someone will expose her secret.
As Brandon she doesn't act macho, but stays in character as the quiet, rather sensitive, shy person she appears to be.
When trapped in her lie, her eyes show the panic of a snared animal.
Swank's Teena is a victim, not a protagonist. When she is brutally punished by John and Tom for her deception, she accepts the abuse and humiliation, feeling she deserved it.
When the five Academy Award nominees for best actress are announced in February, Swank's name definitely will be among them. She gives the strongest female performance of 1999, bar none.
Sevigny's Lana is another victim. A young girl with low self-esteem, her confidence is bolstered by Brandon's sweet affection and attention.
Even when graphically confronted with the truth about Brandon's gender, she stubbornly continues to call her lover "he."
Sevigny and Swank's love scenes are sensuous without being sordid.
Sevigny's performance here is even better than her recent portrayal in "American Beauty." As John, Sarsgaard is a walking psychopath. One powerful scene has him playing with his baby daughter, his eyes all aglow with warmth and love. The next moment, she wets him and he explodes with an animalistic rage capable of killing. It is a foreshadowing of things to come.
Director Kimberly Peirce, who co-wrote the script with Andy Bienen, shows an affection for her subject as well as a balanced objectivity. She is sympathetic to Teena/Brandon's plight but is not afraid to show her flaws, her willingness to flirt with danger and discovery and the thrill it engenders. Nor does Peirce pull back from showing Teena/Brandon as a user who steals a blank check from one friend, and continually imposes herself on a cousin whenever she needs a safe haven.
How good is "Boys Don't Cry?" At the end I wanted to hate John and Tom, but couldn't because Peirce and Bienen - with able assistance from Sarsgaard and Sexton - have created such well-rounded individuals that you understood their motivations and, while not condoning their actions, you could at least appreciate their disgust and outrage.
"Boys Don't Cry" is an achievement, one of the best movies of the year. It is gloomy, overpowering and black, a movie that will stir your soul and your psyche.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net
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