Rent Boys Don't Cry (1999)

The Violence Doesn't - Boys Don't Cry review by griggs

There are films you’re glad you watched and films you’d happily watch again. Boys Don’t Cry is firmly in the first camp. Kimberly Peirce’s debut tells the story of Brandon Teena, a young trans man murdered at twenty-one, and it hits like a brick. It’s powerful, upsetting, and still feels shaped for cis audiences, which makes it both significant and limited.

Hilary Swank is terrific. Not in a flashy way — just completely locked in, so that when things turn, they turn with horrible force. Chloë Sevigny gives the film its fragile centre, and Peter Sarsgaard is deeply unsettling, the sort of screen presence that makes the air feel dirty.

What’s most striking now is how much the film shows its age. Not because Brandon’s story matters less, but because trans representation has moved on and this feels more like an early landmark than a final word. The film ends. The violence doesn’t. Brandon Teena is still misgendered on his gravestone.

Although Hilary Swank won an Oscar, I didn't find her at all convincing - Boys Don't Cry review by RP

I recently saw and was impressed by director Kimberly Peirce's 2008 film 'Stop-Loss' and looked up her earlier work and found her 1999 film 'Boy's Don't Cry'.

This is a drama based on the true story of Teena Brandon who, undergoing a sexual identity crisis, lived as a boy named Brandon Teena. Unfortunately her new found male 'friends' discovered his/her true gender and were a tad unsympathetic, beating, raping and shooting her.

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her role as Teena/Brandon. Frankly, I suspect that was for her boldness in a taking a part that addresses the question of gender identity, an issue that mainstream society can find threatening. I did not find her at all convincing as Brandon and could not imagine that Brandon's girlfriend Lana (played by Chloë Sevigny, who was also Oscar nominated) could be deceived.

To give you a flavour of what the film is about, here's a section from the end credits:

"A special thanks to all of the transmen and butch dykes who helped, advised and auditioned for this project and supported the process of bringing this story to the screen."

The soundtrack is rather good, with many country and country blues numbers, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy either the film or the acting. 2/5 stars.