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