Boys Don't Cry
by Catherine Lee

Boys Don't Cry is a gripping, powerful film about an inspiring and unlikely hero. This quintessentially American story, about a fiercely passionate young dreamer relentlessly determined to escape a stifling drab small town mentality to create a new identity and a better life, continues a great tradition of films like A Place in the Sun, In Cold Blood, Bonnie and Clyde and even Rebel Without A Cause.

Kimberly Pierce, who directed and co-wrote the script, wanted Boys Don't Cry to be a modern telling of Romeo and Juliet. She wants us to fall in love with her Romeo, and we do. This is her feature debut, and she is in dazzling command of every element on the screen.

Based closely on a true story that is violent and tragic, the tone of Boys Don't Cry is never lurid or sensational. It is surprisingly uplifting and hopeful, due entirely to the tremendous courage of our young Romeo to be his true self despite the danger. It heartbreakingly evokes key elements of the American dream, freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

All the performances are memorable. The lead performances are so compelling, both have been nominated for Academy Awards. The star of Boys Don't Cry has already won the Golden Globe for best performance in a drama.

Sounds great, doesn't it? It is, and I give Boys Don't Cry my highest recommendation. I wish I could stop this review now because once the plot of this story is revealed, many will think, "Oh, I'm not interested in that." Don't succumb to that attitude.

Boys Don't Cry tells the story of Teena Brandon who gets in trouble with the law in Lincoln, Nebraska and moves to nearby Falls City and begins living life as Brandon Teena. In the film, Hilary Swank (The Next Karate Kid, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) gets a haircut, stuffs a sock down her jeans, develops a swagger, puts on a cowboy hat and is transformed into a boy. She is quickly and convincingly a he. We watch this transformation, and it is utterly believable. This lovely, confused young person becomes himself as Brandon. Suddenly, there is a devilish twinkle in his eye, and he is ready to take on the world. There are many films where men masquerade as women. This is completely different.

Flamboyant drag queens increasingly populate American films and have gained an unusual degree of acceptance in our generally homophobic culture. Though films like The Birdcage, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Flawless, to name just a few, have, no doubt, opened a few hearts and minds, drag queens (lovely and hilarious as they are) represent only the tiniest slice of the vast community beyond the boundaries of heterosexuality.

In movies, too often a feather boa or a Jerry Springer attitude attend the presentation of a story with a more complicated sexual landscape than boy-meets-girl. Humor is frequently used to make characters with unconventional sexuality palatable to moviegoers.

Boys Don't Cry doesn't hide under the cover of humor. It is tense and suspenseful drama. The vast sky of Nebraska, which might easily suggest an open expansive atmosphere, is photographed to suggest a sinister claustrophobia. It seems to press down on those who live under it. Present from the first moment is a sense of doom and dread.

Brandon makes new friends in Falls City, especially among the ladies. He has a romantic disposition unlike the other men in town. Brandon falls in love with Lana Tisdel, a kindred spirit who continues to love him, even when she knows the truth. By winning the affection of Lana (Chloe Sevigny), the only flower in this bleak, empty little world, Brandon commits a fatal sin. Two of Brandon's so-called friends (played by Peter Sarsgaard and Brendan Sexton), when they learn of his deception, beat, rape and later murder him.

Boys Don't Cry isn't simply a story about sexual orientation. Producer Christine Vachon has said the film is "not just about two stupid thugs who killed somebody. It's about these guys whose world is so tenuous and so fragile that they can't stand to have any of their beliefs shattered." One of the tremendous strengths of the film is the way it understands and presents the fear that leads to anger that leads to violence. If the film wanted to preach, which it never does, it could be titled Anatomy of a Hate Crime.

Boys Don't Cry doesn't whitewash Brandon. He stole cars, forged check, and used stolen credit cards. After he was beaten and raped, he could have run away. It's only because he continued to hang around, to convince Lana to run away with him and explain himself to her mother, that he was killed. He could have run, but that would have meant denying who he was. Real men don't do that.

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