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"An Engrossing
'Cry'"
by Scott Mantz
"Boys Don't Cry"
Hilary Swank,
Chloe Sevigny
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
With the major
studios focusing more than ever on the bottom line, a lot of good
films wind up getting passed over for ridiculous reasons. The star
isn't big enough. There isn't enough sex in it. It needs more action.
It doesn't have a happy ending. You get the picture. It falls on
the Independents to pick up the ball, and the results can be extraordinary.
First-time director Kimberly Peirce has made a film so engrossing
and powerful, you would never know it was inspired by real life
events. "Boys Don't Cry" is one of the year's most gripping films
and contains a truly breakthrough performance in Hilary Swank.
Based on a true
story, Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) is a woman so lost in her sexual
identity that she changes her appearance to look and act like a
boy. After committing petty crimes in the blue collar surroundings
of Nebraska, she transforms herself and changes her name to Brandon
Teena. She blends right in with her favored trailer park friends
and falls in love with the rebellious Lana (Chloe Sevigny). Things
eventually turn deadly when Teena's true identity is revealed.
There has been
a lot of controversy over the film's depiction of the tragic events.
Whatever the case may be, it makes for a spectacular film. Peirce
sets the mood of desperation in the key players as they go about
their lives in a town so insignificant, it isn't even on the map.
The characters do nothing but cause trouble and drink a lot of beer.
The film pulls you in so far, you feel like you are living out this
menial existence yourself.
Considering
the film is filled with so many newcomers, it makes the resulting
performances even more impressive. Chloe Sevigny is so desperate
to get out of town, she's literally bouncing off the walls. Her
attraction to Brandon is sweet and genuine, and she refuses to accept
the truth even when it is literally staring her in the face. As
Brandon's friend John, Peter Sarsgaard embodies every deplorable
stereotype about the midwest. He plays it cool, even when he suspects
something is up with Brandon, but his discovery of the truth leads
to an inevitably tragic outcome.
Hilary Swank
puts in one of the most convincing, gut-wrenching, and groundbreaking
performances by an actor all year. Her portrayal of Teena/Brandon
is so convincing, you'd never know she played a babe on "Beverly
Hills 90210". She creates a character who's sympathetic on many
levels. She cannot explain her desire to be a man, nor does she
even try. She goes to extreme measures to fit in, and she just wants
to be loved unconditionally for who she is. One of the film's most
crucial scenes shows Brandon being interrogated by an insensitive
cop following a brutal rape. Swank's reluctant admittance to her
condition is so emotional, the Academy would be crazy not to notice
it around Oscar time.
As a true story,
this shows how far we still have to go to accept people unconditionally,
regardless of their sexual preference. The fate that befalls Teena
is tragic and inexcusable. By adapting this story for the screen,
maybe we can open our minds to accept people for who they are, even
if they are not sure of it themselves.
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