Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Boys Don't Cry (1999) - Swank and co-stars stand out in Peirce's gritty, empathetic true-crime debut

6/19/2021

Boys Don't Cry (1999) - Swank and co-stars stand out in Peirce's gritty, empathetic true-crime debut

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Rainbow Movie of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year: Hilary Swank + Best True-Crime Movie of the Year

A graphically manipulated figure of the protagonist Brandon Teena against a rust-colored road makes up this deliberately rough and unpolished-looking poster for Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry

Brandon Teena is a female-to-male transgender, who passes off as a handsome young guy, but does so in just about the worst kind of white trash environment imaginable.

Boys Don't Cry is written by Andy Bienen (Yellow Rose (2019)) and debuting co-writer/director Kimberly Peirce (Carrie (2013)). It is based on the real life and death of Brandon Teena of Falls City, Nebraska.

Hilary Swank (Insomnia (2002)) is fearless, and Chloë Sevigny (Hit & Miss (2012, miniseries)) falls head over heels - credibly - in love with Swank's Brandon. Peter Sarsgaard (Empire (2002)) is frighteningly believable as the blunted douche heavy of the story. The film doesn't find aesthetic or other devices to elevate it from its primitive environment, which makes it somewhat strenuous to sit through, as it builds up to its harshly realistic and fairly sickening third act.

Boys Don't Cry is like a heartbreaking scream heard in the night. It is definitely a film with its heart in the right place.

Top 10: Best gay-themed titles

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 20.7 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 10.35 times its cost)

[Boys Don't Cry premiered 2 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 118 minutes. Swank lied herself one year younger to get the part and immersed herself fully into the part despite getting only 3k $ for the performance in total. Shooting took place from October - November 1998 in Texas, including Austin and Dallas. The film was cut in North America to avoid an NC-17 rating and obtain the R rating it was released with. It opened #43 to a 73k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #16 and in 365 theaters, grossing 11.5 mil. $ (55.6 % of the total gross). The real-life Lana Tisdel (Sevigny's character) met with Swank to inform her work prior to filming but attacked the film upon release and sued the filmmakers, a matter that was solved out of court for an undisclosed sum. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning Best Actress for Swank, and losing Supporting Actress (Sevigny) to Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, won 2/5 Independent Spirit award nominations, 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, 3 National Board of Review awards and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Peirce returned with The L Word (2006, TV-series) and theatrically with Stop-Loss (2008). Swank returned in The Audition (2000, short) and theatrically in The Gift (2000); Sevigny in Julien Donkey-Boy (1999); and Sarsgaard in The Cell (2000). Boys Don't Cry is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Boys Don't Cry?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

6/19/2021

Boys Don't Cry (1999) - Swank and co-stars stand out in Peirce's gritty, empathetic true-crime debut

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

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