Boys Don't Cry
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Movie Reviews of Boys Don't Cry
Movie Review: One of the best movies of the 90's
Summary: 5 Stars
Boys Don't Cry is the kind of movie you go to the movies to see. Director Kimberly Peirce (in unbelievably- her first feature length film) does, what I believe, the point of cinema is to do: she connects us fully and powerfully to the characters onscreen, and via that connection, communicates something unique about society. In this case, the characters are disillusioned, Nebraska youth and the message is gender, the mystery and illusion of sex, the roots of bigotry, the perils and raptures of youthful idealism, etc. Each viewer can interpret what the film is symbolically "about" and have a wealth of evidence to back their interpretations up -its dexterity is that universal, and certainly transcends the label "gay film." At the center of the film is Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) a real-life girl who thought of herself as a boy and proceeded to be very sexually successful with many young women- until his untimely rape and murder at the hands of his friends. According to the excellent DVD commentary, Peirce wanted to create a classic male American anti-hero like Montgomery Clift and Jake la Motta to enable the transvestite Brandon Teena an accessible character. So in the grand traditions of those heroes, Brandon is a charismatic, self-proclaimed "a-hole"- full-bodied and believable because of his moral in addition to sexual ambiguities.
The film charts Brandon's rise and fall with a group of people in Falls City that society undoubtedly pegs "trailer trash." Brandon meets the violent but friendly John (Peter Sarsgaard) who hangs out with the masochistic Tom (Brendan Sexton III). Brandon's vulnerability, as a woman, and as a kid trying to fit in, drives the story's menace as his new friends reveal themselves as violent, baneful influences. Though they easily could have been easy portraits of machismo gone wrong, Peirce clearly extends her empathy to John and Tom, portraying them as products of abusive, ignorant environments.
This is also true of Lana, (Chloe Sevigny) a red-haired, sleepy-eyed young woman who falls for Brandon's winsome, contextually exotic charms. Lana embodies a number of qualities: grace under fire, the effects of parental alcoholism, soul-depleting minimum wage jobs, and, as critic David Edelstein noted, the allusive quality of sex, when she becomes a willing participant in deception. She is duped not by low self-esteem but by that intangible illusion necessary in loving someone. Rapturously displayed in a series of lyrically filmed erotic scenes, Brandon and Lana's sex life fully illuminates the film's psychosexual themes, with Lana at its symbolic heart. It says something magnificent about Peirce and Sevigny that they can make Lana mean so much without compromising (and in fact benefiting from) her individuality. At the end of the film, she's a believable human being, not a poster child.
The commentary track by Kimberly Peirce is enlightening and informative and funny, engaging the viewer/listener in an active conversation. One thing I found particularly interesting were her insightful ruminations upon the pop music used in her movie. The Cars "Just What I Needed;" The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry;" Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesdays Gone;" and Little Texas's "Bluest Eyes in Texas" each have a profound effect on the tone and meaning of their respective scenes. Peirce explains the pain-staking measures she took to ensure that the music was properly integrated into the movie's mileu.
By the end of Boys Don't Cry, I was in tears, both sad and happy. I was sad that Brandon Teena had died so brutally. And I was happy that Kimberly Peirce had just created such a beautiful movie. Its psychosocial critical eye is matched only by its compassionate exaltation of humanity.
Movie Review: Heartbreaking in every sense of the word, moving and utterly flawless in delivery...
Summary: 5 Stars
`Boy's Don't Cry' is the type of film that will prove it's title wrong, displaying enough emotional despair to make the burliest of men break down in tears. Recounting the true life story of Teena Brandon, a young woman with a sexual identity crisis that lived her life as Brandon Teena and was eventually raped and murdered in 1993, `Boy's Don't Cry' hits every mark precisely and delivers one of the most well proportioned films in recent years. Director Kimberly Pierce masterfully achieves accuracy and authenticity with levels of unique elegance and sets a mood that is piercingly calm while subtly unnerving. Watching this young woman's life slowly spiral out of control is so tempered and paced that it almost creeps up on you despite the fact that it's been unraveling quite rapidly before your very eyes.
The heart and soul behind this tragic retelling is that of Hilary Swank who delivers a brilliant breakout performance in which she disappears within the skin of Teena or better yet Brandon and completely convinces the audience of her lies, deceiving us as much as she's deceiving her fellow cast mates. Swanks performance is so brutally convincing that the viewer is swallowed in her frustration, her pain and her confusion. We are completely attached to her and never want to let her go. Swank is not alone though for the entire supporting cast is spot on as well, most notably Chloe Sevigny and Peter Sarsgaard who command their scenes and our emotions. Chloe plays Lana, Brandon's love interest. Her innocence and naivety makes her understandable, but it's her compassion in the heat of crashing hope that makes her lovable and sympathetic. I wept almost more for her character than that of Swank herself. Sarsgaard's character John evokes in us a drastically different emotional response. John, Lana's ex-boyfriend and Brandon's supposed friend is unsympathetic, irrational, violent and controlling and as we watch Peter Sarsgaard create and manipulate his own performance we're forced to appreciate his genius. His performance is utterly flawless.
As Teena's story is told we are brought to an understanding and or appreciation for the lives and or trials of others. Teena is not much different than the rest of us, a confused young girl who did all that she could to be who she knew she was regardless of the gender card she was dealt. We all struggle in our own ways to become the person we know we are yet never are given to opportunity to unveil and so watching her determined struggle should give us all a sense of respect for this brave young woman. As tragic as this biopic is it's a film that we should all experience and learn from.
Watching Swank, Sevigny and Sarsgaard chew up their performances before our eyes is fascinating to watch, three young actors devouring these characters with a mature fervor that is hard pressed to find in some of our more advanced and experienced actors. Swank earned the Oscar she won for this and Sevigny, as much as I adored Jolie in her respective film, deserved the Oscar as well for her heartbreaking performance. The fact that Peter Sarsgaard was snubbed altogether of a nomination is enough to make me cry so I won't talk of that too much. `Boy's Don't Cry' is a masterpiece of a film, one that will break your heart and crush your spirits but in the end amaze and move you beyond words.
Movie Review: A MOVIE WITH A MESSAGE!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
YOU WILL NOT VIEW THIS MOVIE AND NOT HAVE IT HAVE SOME SORT OF EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE. THIS FILM BRINGS TO LIFE THE HARSH REALISM THAT SOCIETY HATES. IT ACCURATELY DEPICTS THE CLOSE-MINDEDNESS OF SOCIETY TOWARDS CERTAIN PEOPLE. THIS FILM, BASED UPON THE LIFE OF BRANDON TEENA, IS A POWERFUL FILM TO BEHOLD. IN A SOCIETY THAT IS FULL OF RACISM AND VARIOUS OTHER FORMS OF HATRED, THERE ARE THOSE OF US WHO EXPERIENCE THE HATE FIRST HAND.
THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THIS MOVIE WITNESSES THIS FIRST HAND AND AT THE SAME TIME TRIES TO COME TO GRIPS WITH HER OWN LIFE!!!
THIS FILM, IN MY OPINION, IS SO POWERFUL BECAUSE OF IT'S REALISM.
I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE CANNOT CHOOSE WHO THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH!!
THIS FILM, WITH MANY SEQUENCES THAT ARE VERY HARD TO WATCH, SHOW IN DETAIL THE HATE THAT SOCIETY SHOWS TO SOME PEOPLE.
I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU ONLY VIEW THIS FILM IF YOU ARE OPEN-MINDED.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT WOULD SIMPLY TOSS THIS MOVIE OUT OF THEIR "TO SEE" LIST SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE STORY.
THERE ARE ALSO PEOPLE, AFTER VIEWING THE FILM, THAT MIGHT EVEN
SAY THAT THE MOVIE IS TRASH.
HOWEVER, ANYONE THAT WOULD SAY THAT, IS TOO CLOSE-MINDED AND THEY NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH "THE REAL WORLD."
EVERYONE HAS A CHOICE ABOUT HOW THEY ARE TO LIVE, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S THE INDIVIDUALS' CHOICE TO MAKE...AND ALTHOUGH WE MAY NOT CHOOSE THE SAME SEXUAL PREFERENCES FOR OURSELVES, WE MUST LEARN TO RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S CHOICES!!!
THIS MOVIE HAS A DEPRESSING FEELING THROUGHOUT AND IT FEELS AS IF THE MOVIE MAKES THE AUDIENCE FEEL EVERY EMOTION THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE FEELING.
THE MOVIE WAS INTERESTING FROM BEGINNING TO END. I JUST HOPE THAT PEOPLE WILL RECOGNIZE THE MESSAGE THAT IT BRINGS.
IT IS A MESSAGE TARGETED TO THE MANY PEOPLE THAT SHOW HATE TO OTHERS BECAUSE OF HIS OR HER SEXUAL CHOICES OR DECISIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, AS INDIVIDUALS, WE NEED TO RESPECT EACH OTHERS CHOICES OF LIFESTYLE, SEXUAL PREFERENCES, ETC.
I BELIEVE THE MESSAGE IS THIS:
WE ARE WHO WE ARE, AND WHO WE MUST BE, IS WHO WE ARE!!
WE MUST BE OURSELVES!!!
WITH A STORY AS COMPELLING AND TOUCHING AS THIS, IT IS SURE TO STIR UP SOME EMOTIONS WITHIN YOU. THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF IT ALL.
SO DON'T LOOK AT THIS MOVIE AND LAUGH, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SEE IT WITH AN OPEN MIND!! IT DESERVES JUST THAT- AN OPEN MIND!!!
THE DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE BY HILLARY SWANK IS CAPTIVATING AND CHLOE SEVIGNY SHOWS US HER ACTING TALENTS AS WELL!!
THE ACTING IS TOP-NOTCH BY THESE TWO ACTRESSES, BOTH OF WHOM HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR AND WON NUMEROUS AWARDS!!
THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ROLES WILL BE RECOGNIZED AND APPRECIATED.
THE DRAMA IS IN PLACE AND IT TARGETS YOUR EMOTIONS.
SO IF GOOD DRAMA IS YOUR THING, THEN SEE THIS FILM...AND AFTER IT TOUCHES YOUR LIFE, MAYBE THE EXISTING HATE WILL GO AWAY!!
THIS IS A MASTERPIECE IN IT'S OWN RIGHT AND IT HAS LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON MY LIFE. IT MAY DO THE SAME TO YOU!!
FEEL THE PAIN - SEE THE HURT - PUT YOURSELF IN HER SHOES-
BECAUSE THEN, AND ONLY THEN, WILL YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!
Movie Review: Heart-wrenching, powerful, intelligent
Summary: 5 Stars
Hilary Swank won an award for her powerful portrayal of Teena Brandon, the sexual identity-confused woman on the run from the law. This film is very powerful, as it invokes various amounts of intense emotion and thought within the viewer, and the fact that this is based on a true story is what makes the film the more powerful.A quick synopsis on the film:
Teena Brandon (who dresses like a boy, and goes by the alias of Brandon Teena) gets into a barfight over a girl named Candace (played by Alicia Goranson, as seen on television sitcom Roseanne), and in the midst of this, meets her friends John (played by Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (played by Brendan Sexton III), two ex-cons. Teena becomes buddies with these two, and they invite her to a party in their hometown. The next day, they go to a different bar, and she then meets the moody and enigmatic Lana (played by Chloë Sevigny), along with her mother (played by Jeanetta Arnette) and one of Lana's friends, Kate (played by Allison Folland.)
Things seem quite bright and rosy, as Teena seems to be accepted as if she were one of the family. She seems to become one of the boys along with Tom and John, drinking and getting into trouble like any typical young misfit would. She develops an ever-blossoming love relationship with Lana, which helps to showcase some of the most beautiful, heartwarming and poignant attributes of the film. Everything seems quite lovely.
Later, things start to take a turn for the worse, as Teena's skeletons start to catch up with her, and the guise she depended on slowly starts to crumble. The beautiful lie gets shattered, and everything that was once peaceful becomes corrupted, and ultimately, she payed the price in one of the worst ways possible. As things start to crumble for Teena, the viewer's emotions start to spiral downhill from what was once an ethereal, transcendent disposition in quite an intense, earth-shattering way as well. You start to feel bad for Teena, and start to sympathize with her, even though she's made quite a few mistakes (e.g. breaking the law, lying about her real gender.) That's one of the many things that made this film so profound.
Hilary Swank gave a powerful and convincing performance, and I think she deserved the award she won indefinitely. Chloë Sevigny also gave an excellent performance as the moody, enigmatic and sympathetic Lana, who seemed to have quite a bit underneath her surface. She should have won an award as well. I can't stress these actresses enough (along with the director and film in general.)
An excellent, powerful film, this is one of my all-time favorite movies. This review won't do it any justice. It's beautiful, sad, ethereal, poignant, atmospheric and disturbing all at once. I highly recommend it to people who think they can handle this story. Also, check out the documentary called "The Brandon Teena Story" if you've watched this movie, and wanted more information regarding the story, since this movie was based on that documentary. However, the documentary is more disturbing than the film.
Movie Review: Painful to watch
Summary: 5 Stars
When I originally saw this movie I gave it 4 stars. Now on rewatching I'm giving it 5. It lost a star because though an excellent movie I did think it dragged in some sections and parts became quite tedious. However, it is on rewatching that you can really appreciate the mastery of the movie. The true life story of Teena Brandon, who masqueraded as a man and found a place among a family in Nebraska as well as a girlfriend, Lana (Chloe Sevigny), who upon discovering he's really a she realises she loves Teena/Brandon anyway.What makes it better second time round is the ominous sense of foreboding over the whole scenario once you have the ending in mind the whole time. It's difficult to know where to begin with explaining why the movie is so good. The obvious point is Hilary Swank, who gives in one of the truly great female performances of all time as Teena/Brandon. She reportedly prepared for the role by living as a man for 4 months and all of her mannerisms, the way she holds herself and how she talks are all evident of this. You will actually believe that a very attractive woman (just see her doe-eyed performance in Insomnia) is a young man. Every single part of her performance here is multi-faceted, speaking anguish, pain and fear of discovery in every gesture. Her best scenes though are those where she is interviewed by unsympathetic police officers after her rape, stumbling over the words as she is forced to reveal not only to the police officers but herself what she really is. This is an absolutely heartbreaking moment that, for me, had more power than the horrific rape scene. A lot of people will have a problem with this scene and it's understandable because it is horrific to watch, and you will find yourself repeating to yourself that you can't believe this really happened. Incidentally, the questions asked at the police station at the end are reportedly the real thing, a tape of the questions asked to the real Teena Brandon.
Of course, to praise Hilary Swank isn't to forget Chloe Sevigny, who is perfect in her role as a bored small-town girl who's looking for something, anything to break the boredom. Her wide-eyed performance works wonders and she complements an all-round impressive cast. Yet the movie also works as an emotional catharsis and besides perhaps depressing you horribly does ask some pretty important questions about identity and prejudice. There are a few scenes that will probably stick in your head, such as the mother's firm avowal that she hates Teena/Brandon simply because he lied to her, something that goes hand-in-hand with freely admitting people she knows as rapists into her home. In the end this is basically a story of not love gone wrong but love forced off its path by petty prejudices and narrow-minded ideals of what love should be about. And whilst this ideas are never shoved down your throat by Pierce, you will definitely be left wondering this. Boys Don't Cry is a magnificent piece of filmmaking that may stand as one of the truly great indie films of all time.