Review of Boys Don't Cry (1999) by James S — 08 Jun 2009

There are occasional performances that can be best described as landmark.

This is Hilary Swank's fully deserved oscar winning one. Based on a true story, her portrayal of Teena Brandon, a girl who passed herself off as a boy as a way of dealing with her sexuality is nothing short of jaw dropping. Swank has every male mannerism down to a tee and actually at times manages to persuade the viewer into forgetting that this is a girl. With that in mind, it's no wonder the other characters in the film never spot it.

After an initially slow first half hour, Boys Don't Cry does pick itself up as Swank's relationship with Chloe Sevigny's Lana develops. Admittedly the film at times does confuse as you can't be sure whether or not Lana knows if Teena is a girl or not or just doesn't care.

Once this is sorted out though, the film becomes a very brutal yet moving drama. When a film ramps it's drama up so high that you gasp in the closing scenes then it must be doing something right.

Boys Don't Cry is a poignant film led by a towering lead performance and a great supporting crew. It is the character that makes this film great rather than the story but when your lead female is this good, the rest will inevitably follow.