Boys Don't Cry
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Movie Reviews of Boys Don't Cry
Movie Review: Realistic picture and Classic love story drenched in Tragedy
Summary: 5 Stars
Boys Don't Cry is an oldfashioned "lovestory" with a "trans-sexual" protagonist and it was shot so that the viewer is on pins and needles until the inevitable tragedy blusters through the "myopia" of small town members who realize they haven't understood this creature or his/her life. The sad thing about this story is that it has heavy undertones and chords of "shame" which are very sad and reach through to the audience with a searing flame like a public burning and yet is shot (unlike the stylistic "The Devils" by Ken Russell) with a strong identification with the oppressors, the men, the "ignorant masses" which is to nearly pardon them-- the ones who would have lit a bonfire and placed the human Brandon like Joan of Arc before her in what were surely labelled "cleansing flames" (a sentence which I nearly gag writing, and something which I could not watch were it not necessary for human beings to face some very unpleasant realities if we are to expect and spread the anthem of "real change") as these men surely acted instinctually, yet here are potrayed as "purging" Brandon by making weapons, as in Kosovo, of their so-called "manhoods."
When Lana in the end, begins to look at the "boyish" Brandon in the light of day and we feel her "doubts" it might be highly realistic (in fact this movie is uber realstic with surreal cinematic swatches that are window dressing) yet it also again makes Brandon's outsider status and loneliness more monstrous as the tragedy plays itself out, considering his "idealistic" love of her which would not be bound by common sense.
The cinematography, close ups galore of characters flawed faces, and the beauty of life without a vaseline lens works here like a Brueghel print and the commingling of humans and stark environments work beautifully in scenes such as when the dustbowel billows and the navigation involved in driving a car is lost in a mist reminiscent which loses contact with the asphalt beneath it, and loses contact with everything outside of the encapsulated doom of a car with as much navigational plausibility as an airplane trapped in the Bermuda Triangle. Have I used the word trapped?
The director, on this first effort, has created a "new realism" which tries to "understand" from all angles and make the pieces which can never fit to do that, and what is accomplished is something of a struggle with feminine nature itself. It is here, in the impossibility of a woman to NOT be at least "buds" and "dudes" with a man that the true pain of womanhood is brought to a head.
There is no room among the small town prejudices for an outsider like this, and even less room for a "pervert" like this and the strongest performance of all was turned in by Chloe Sevigny, who as Lana indicated her awareness of the sick and twisted atmosphere by being the pivot around which it swirled. Yet, she understood well enough that the society she kept and her mother's quite obvious religious feelings towards an ex-con like John were something more than dangerous. Lana knew what it was to be trapped, and she was able to translate the anonymity and the stranglehold of her incapacity to Brandon who alive with love drew her to him/her in a way which could make fairy tales seem real and being from "outside" could offer a different perspective, tenderness, and love.
The movie became caught in the throat of Brandon just looking at bad girl Lana, a primary reason to stay on in the little community he'd run away to long after the signs were pointing towards a swift getaway. Yet Lana was the one able to say "I don't care if you're a martian" (to paraphrase her response to Brandon's "dilemna") showing the LEAST need of a validating society.
The dead end lives of all these people (and the performances, all brilliant, not one less good than the next) could lead a person to pity, vexation, camaraderie, and abject hopelessness.
There is no reason for them to find more or look further. In a sense, there world and their lives work in a truncated manner because for them, that is ALL THERE IS. And yet in moments of transcendence they are as open as the dusty highway, they come without batteries, and have nothing to add to their state as "noble savages."
If the world worked the way they wanted it too, the way it had worked the day before the "uncanny" appeared in their midst in the guise of a happy go lucky young "wet behind the ears" kid who made the mistake of falling for the mythological pivotal loving "bad girl" Lana-- the archetype of Lilith and Magdalene blended in with the Virgin; one feels that they likely would have believed no REAL tragedy beyond the commonplace sorrows would ever have occurred in that place.
Much has been made of Hilary Swank's performance and after seeing THIS movie without visiting the "documentary" it is hard to see any other person, actually, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to see another person in this role. But when there are scenes that need a "fiery" "touching" sentience, and a "glaring" displeasure with the mundane realities it is not Brandon that understands the "danger" in being complacent in a world where no one dreams but Lana who's intelligence, and charisma could have charmed the socks off other sailors and sent them to their dooms too.
The touching quality of a "karaoke torch song singer" a "klumsy t-shirted siren with a cow collection" was a perfect "human" counterpoint and her ease with herself and her feelings were a foil and a sharp contrast to the clumsy Brandon who appeared as strange to the rules of life as he was to the rules of a body he had initially disdained.
Even in the scene where Lana pays visit to a confused Teena in prison who is still muddled and has a hard time surveying and understanding the danger his/her presence might bring to those, as unfair as that might be, that must stay behind and live in the small pond world of "Here" Sevigny transmits a subdued, loving, and carefree "girl in the know."
For Brandon, young, in love, and a bit stilted as either a male or a female there was simply NO WAY OUT. It is a great tragedy that some sick men who the director potrayed, in a hard edgy game as "ordinary guys" with "severe problems" provided the trapped young man on his journey inward with a permanent way out.
Movie Review: Disturbing and powerful film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a poignant and powerful film. It is the true story of Teena Brandon, a young woman who is in the throes of a sexual identity crisis. She cuts her hair and dresses like a man to see if she can pass for one. What starts out as an experiment turns into a full fledged alter ego as she is accepted as a man by a group she meets in a bar. The story follows the group's escapades, including Brandon's love affair with Lana, who falls in love with Brandon, thinking she's a man. It culminates with the discovery that Brandon is actually a woman with a dramatic confrontation in the finale.This is film noir at it's finest. A lot of people think that this is a story about courage and lesbianism but it is really about neither. It is about the search for identity; not just sexual identity but the search for a deeper self . All the characters in this film were lost and confused, but Brandon was the only one who realized it of herself. The rest were basically playing out their despondent lives trying not to think of who or what they were. Here was a person they loved and accepted, but who turned out to be the most heinous of deviants as defined by their own prejudices and fears. This is why they were so fundamentally shaken upon the revelation of Brandon's true identity. It left them to confront their own flimsy identities. They were left with no respite from the emotional vortex. Brandon presented a terrifying threat to the way they viewed themselves. They were compelled to change who they were or hate someone they had grown to love.
This film was also about obsession. Brandon takes extraordinary risks to live the male role, not out of courage, but out of an obsession to know and understand it, and to see if she can find comfort and a sense of belonging. Likewise, writer/director Kimberly Peirce had been obsessed with this story and researched it for five years before finally making the film. Obsession generally leads to one of two places: greatness or death. For Peirce, at least for the moment, it has lead to greatness in the production of this film.
Strictly from a technical directorial standpoint there was nothing special here. The lighting was amateurish, the shots were mostly mundane. The sets and locations were realistically trashy, but it is a lot easier to create realistic trash than realistic elegance. Peirce also bogs the film down occasionally with excessive character development. However, Peirce captures in the story and the filming, the essence of rural lower class crudenes, bigotry and hatred and fear. It is the raw emotion that reaches out and grabs us. Her lens brought into sharp focus the base reality of inescapable despair and deluded hope. Reality often has fangs, and Peirce was undaunted in showing them and then ripping us to shreds.
As to Hilary Swank, I can only add one more rose to the bouquet of praise that has been heaped on her. If there was any courage in this story, it was the courage of Swank to take such a complex and disturbing role. The subtlety of her performance was astounding. She needed not just to be a woman playing a man. She needed to be a woman playing a woman playing a man, trying to look convincing yet insecure and unsure of how she was being perceived by the other characters. When in character, her many skillful lapses into moments of femininity, only to snap back into masculinity were masterfully done. For Swank, this was a meteoric rise from obscurity. It remains to be seen if it was just the perfect alignment of actor and role, or something more. I hope for the latter and look forward to seeing her next project.
Greatly obscured by Swankmania, was the performance by Chloe Sevigny as Lana, Brandon's love interest. She gave an outstanding performance in another extraordinarily difficult role. Her conflict over the implications of her sexual and emotional feelings for Brandon were sensitively and delicately portrayed. She played the part with a tentative eagerness, just as one would expect of someone whose sexual identity had been thrown into upheaval. It was also no easy career choice to be cast in a role with so many explicit sexual scenes with another woman.
This film was stark reality with no holds barred. The filmmaking was technically unsophisticated (and I'm usually a real stickler about that), but I rated it a 9/10 on pure emotional power. This film is not for you if you are offended by lesbianism, graphic violence or profanity. But if you are not intimidated by the naked reality of the darker side of life, this is a film you must experience.
Movie Review: Heart Shattering Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just seen the film, I have to say "Boys Don't Cry" is one of the most amazing films I've ever seen. Swank's performance could have gone horribly wrong, and yet she kept the tour de force up for the entire two hours of this mesmerizing film. What I liked about it was:1. The direction: Remember, this is a first film. Kimberly Pierce had worked five years to bring her script to the screen, and does so in a refreshing, UNPRETENTIOUS way I really related to. Like "In Cold Blood" and "Badlands" she focused on the life of these midwestern characters in such a genuine way that I wouldn't be surprised how people might not be blown away by it. In fact, it is a SUBTLE approach that I find more effective in films, I'm all for special effects as in "The Matrix" and the aesthetic elements of say, "American Beauty," but Pierce's ear for dialogue and her vision of Falls City as this vast wasteland where young people don't have much of a future and are filled up with frustrations was inspiring. She told a HUMAN INTEREST STORY against BIGOTRY in such a DECENT way that even the VILLAINS came out as being all too human. The narrative structure, while not flashy, was quite complex and hard to get away with. There was a flow to the film that gave it the heart that was needed to accurately represent the characters. It's a SHAME that Pierce fell to the wayside in the awards season--simplicity seems to be overlooked because most people don't realize that attaining such an ability is the hardest thing in the world.
2. The acting: Hilary WAS a boy. Her movements, her countenace, everything. Our complicity with her character made me realize just how strong a performance she gave. Every second, in her face, I could see the fear of being found out. All the complexities of Brandon Teena came alive with a movement of the lips or with a certain look. The need to please everyone while at the same time compensating her mere existence with lies and deceit. It is a very demanding role that she pulled off magnificently. And more importantly, it is a new kind of role. I've seen the controlling/hysterical woman Annette Bening played (Faye Dunaway in "Network" to name one). But in the type of role Swank had to play she had little to work with (Jaye Davidson's Dil in "The Crying Game" comes to mind) and yet she avoided becoming a pitiful figure, and managed to give Brandon an inner beauty that wasn't preachy or contrived. CHLOE SEVIGNY was incredible. As a matter of fact, she impressed me even more than Swank. It is a subtle, powerful performance that also rises above any other "girlfriend" type role I have ever seen. She endowes Lana with the ability to really love and care for Brandon and is truly the ray of hope in an otherwise dark movie. PETER SASGAARD is also a stand out as John Lotter, because he was so human. An insecure, childish, violent man who is also capable of showing a lot of affection for his daughter. The undercurrents of BRENDAN SAXTON III's performance are also worth mentioning simply because it shows without a lot of words the confusion he must have felt when he found himself attracted to this "guy." There are so many layers to this film that I could go on and on praising it. Of course I have one problem with it:
1. THE FACTS: Like "The Insider," "The Hurricane," and a million other films, BDC plays with the facts. Another person was murdered in that house, an African American male. I feel that for the film's sake, it was VITAL to focus on the Lana/Brandon relationship, but being familiar with the case, I thought they could have handled the misrepresentation of the third victim better.
In short, it was an amazing movie. Best one I've seen since "Election." But unlike "Election," it doesn't deal with already explored themes. This is unexplored territory Ms. Pierce was going into, and she came out--as far as I'm concerned--as an extremely promising filmmaker who will hopefully continue to tell socially relevant stories in this f&#*ed up world in which baseball fans give a standing ovation to a bigott and even wear t-shirts that say "JOHN ROCKER FOR PRESIDENT"
Movie Review: Tour de Force Performance by Hilary Swank
Summary: 5 Stars
"Boys Don't Cry" has been cited for two major Academy Award nominations: Chloe Sevigny for Best Supporting Actress and Hilary Swank for Best Actress. The film is based on a multiple murder that occurred in a run down Nebraska farmhouse in 1993. What appeared at the time to be an inexplicably brutal killing soon turned into something far more intriguing as the true story of the killers and one of the victims emerged. Among the dead was a person who had been in town only a short while but had already become one of the town's most fascinating characters: a rebel, a loyal friend, and an irresistible romancer of the ladies.That person was Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank), not the boy he and everyone else wanted him to be. Knowing him as a dashing boyfriend to many women, people were shocked to learn after his death that Brandon Teena was, in fact, a woman from Lincoln, Nebraska, named Teena Brandon. While Teena was a young adult trapped in a world that did not accept her, Brandon Teena was a fun-loving fellow with beautiful girlfriends who publicly adored him.
"Boys Don't Cry" is one of those bizarre true stories that cannot help but fascinate and intrigue. For the film to succeed, the role of Teena as Brandon must be convincing. If everyone who knew Brandon believed that she was a he, the audience has to be convinced as well, despite the explicit information given at the very beginning of the film. Swank accomplishes this through her angular face, close-cropped hair, physical mannerisms, and lilting midwestern drawl. Though the viewer watches carefully to catch a moment in which her femininity comes through, it never does.
It is virtually impossible not to be drawn to the film because of Swank's performance, which is captivating.
The film is violent, often painfully so, as co-writer/
director Kimberly Peirce recounts the odd events surrounding Brandon's ability to endear himself to people -- particularly female -- and to make friends easily. In the few scenes in which Brandon's true sex is revealed, Swank transforms into an awkward, embarrassed, tense outcast, knowing full well she is perceived as a freak. Gone is Brandon's winning smile, gone is Brandon's confidence, and gone is the very persona Teena has adopted.
"Boys Don't Cry" is one of those films that simply must be seen. It is unique among standard Hollywood fare. Not for the squeamish, it is a look at a dark, unpleasant side of how differences in individuals are not tolerated, society often accepts the expedient lie rather than the difficult truth, and stupidity and bigotry can lead to tragedy.
Swank elicits viewer compassion on several levels. Clearly, she is emotionally troubled, yet has adjusted her persona to fit in and feel comfortable. Her Brandon can flirt with attractive girls, become friends with them, and even carry the relationship to a sexual level. In the latter part of the film, she is the object of violence simply because she has successfully fooled those around her -- primarily low-life types whose own sexuality is threatened and whose alcohol-clouded minds inspire them to a "payback" of humiliating brutality.
The script, by Peirce and Andy Bienen, moves along briskly, seldom meandering. There is no sense of padding, as each scene provides a new dimension to the story. We learn that Brandon has a police record for petty crimes, but little else about Teena's/Brandon"s past is revealed. This gives the film a suitable mystery. The viewer shares an off-balance feeling with the characters in the film. The writers based their screenplay on an assortment of trial transcripts, media coverage, interviews with local kids, real-life participants, and their own imagination. The result is an intense look at events in the life of a misfit being the "perfect boyfriend" to lonely, innocent, and underprivileged young women.
Rated R, "Boys Don't Cry" succeeds primarily because of Swank's unique, often startling performance. It transcends the ordinary and sweeps the viewer up into Brandon Teena's peculiar,
tragic life.
Movie Review: Review Of "Boys Don't Cry"
Summary: 5 Stars
I have turned into "movie reviewer Kate!" I have seen quite at few movies at the Cinemas (which is odd for me cause I used to never really enjoy Cinema now I do, maybe it's cause what I was usually dragged to see was crap, and was not about acting, merely creating a box office hit) lately like Melbourne's Premiere of The Green Mile, were I ran into two famous people (Peter Brock and a Neighbors actor), then later I saw an Australian film called The Wog Boy, which was really funny, took the piss out of all Australian's, but in a good way. If you have ever been to or lived in any big Australian city or met any "New Australians" then I recommend this movie that was shot right here in Melbourne which is very subtlety advertised through the whole movie, from shot of well known spots in the background, not to mention the Vicrtoian number plates sporting the famous Victorian saying "Victoria-On the move". But one movie stands out in my mind that I happen to see in St Kilda yesterday. The event wasn't completely planned. I was just SO HOT (It was almost 40 degrees in the sun!) that I was willing to pay $9.50 for 2 hours of decent air condioning, and i got it, as well as a movie that i didn't expect to be so brilliant. It is called "Boys Don't Cry", and is written and directed by Kimberly Peirce staring Hilary Swank (90210, Buffy) and Chloë Sevigny (The last days of Disco) who filled their incredibly demanding roles superbly.
With me and my strange quite urban anti Hollywood all for Independent Films taste these movie rate with stuff like In The Name of the Father,Pulp fiction, Basket Ball Diaries, Train Spotting and even the New Zealand production staring Kate Winslet (Titanic) before see went Hollywood there was Heavenly Creatures. (I hear she is back in an independent film though, shot in India were she plays Australian girl!)
That is not to say this movie is any thing like those movies I mentioned. It is TOTTALLY different. The only thing it has in common with In In The name of the Father is the way it made me feel through and after it. It made me angry, sad, compassionate, shocked and uncomfortable (only a good film does this!), most of all it changed the way I think about some things. It broaden my horizons you could say.
I must warn some spectators before they see it, that it is a story of a girl from southern American state that believes she is suppose to be a boy and there fore dresses in cross gender. And actually dates girls, as they believe she is a boy. The story line is very different and dares to tackles a touchy very serious subject head on. (But I could say this movie conceptis more easily digested then the Australian film "Head On" staring Alex Dimitriatedes that is about Beats)(If you do not know what a beat is then don't ask!)
But the thing is that if you get past cringing at homosexual kissing (if that does make you cringe?) Then you get close to the main characters, actually like them, as the director intended to portray them as real breathing innocent people and show the way they lived, after all it is based on a true story.
I say if you choose to see this powerful movie then go in with an open mind and your mind and it might open your eyes.
To those who condone disrrimaintion I will be interested to know if after watching this movie if you still condone discrimination and taunting against people who are "different". If you still do then I do not believe that you have a heart, in fact I find it hard to believe you are a human being.
I must say that I walked out of that cinema thanking god that is was not my reality, but I couldn't forget that it is a lot of people's realities. And that can be a hard, cold and lonely one.
Remember "expect nothing and you shall receive" is my motto when it comes to seeing a new film. Feel free to email me at pxe_341@yahoo.com.au for feedback, or to share your opinions. Cheers! By Kate;) Stanborough