Rating: 
Summary: makes you want cry every time you see it
Review: this is very touching movie. hilary swank and the rest of the cast are great. i liked the fact that the director showed what actually happened even though some things were not true. for example brandon gets a ride from john & tom and wakes up in falls city. the truth is that brandon goes to falls city after being outcasted in lincoln. in falls city he meets lana & candace (supposedly lisa lambert in real life.)then there's lana's mom though the movie makes her look like a bad guy she really isn't she encourages brandon to go to the police. then there's brandon's death where john and tom go to kill brandon and lana tries to stop them. in reality lana was not at the crime scene at the time of brandon's death. never the less this movie will alway's bring a tear to your eye
Rating: 
Summary: BRUTALITY, IDENTITY
Review: Quite a sad tale of gender and identity conflict and how one person's quest to find herself (himself) leads to his own demise. Who knew that Hilary Swank was capable of this caliber acting? Seeing her in Beverly Hills, 90210 and even worse in Karate Kid 4 or something like that certainly would not have prepared anyone for this level of drama. Naturally it put Swank, the Oscar winner for best actress in 2000, on Hollywood's A-list. It was interesting also to see Lecy (does she do by Alicia now?) Goranson of Roseanne fame in a role here since she has not much been seen since Roseanne days. Also Chloe Sevigny gives a stellar performance as the girlfriend of Swank's character (Brandon Teena). The truly sad part of this film, apart from the complete discrimination and fear people show of things they do not understand, is that the story is true and Brandon Teena ended up murdered in reality. Truly a tragic tale.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic picture and Classic love story drenched in Tragedy
Review: Boys Don't Cry is an oldfashioned "lovestory" with a "trans-sexual" protagonist and it was shot so that the viewer is on pins and needles until the inevitable tragedy blusters through the "myopia" of small town members who realize they haven't understood this creature or his/her life. The sad thing about this story is that it has heavy undertones and chords of "shame" which are very sad and reach through to the audience with a searing flame like a public burning and yet is shot (unlike the stylistic "The Devils" by Ken Russell) with a strong identification with the oppressors, the men, the "ignorant masses" which is to nearly pardon them-- the ones who would have lit a bonfire and placed the human Brandon like Joan of Arc before her in what were surely labelled "cleansing flames" (a sentence which I nearly gag writing, and something which I could not watch were it not necessary for human beings to face some very unpleasant realities if we are to expect and spread the anthem of "real change") as these men surely acted instinctually, yet here are potrayed as "purging" Brandon by making weapons, as in Kosovo, of their so-called "manhoods." When Lana in the end, begins to look at the "boyish" Brandon in the light of day and we feel her "doubts" it might be highly realistic (in fact this movie is uber realstic with surreal cinematic swatches that are window dressing) yet it also again makes Brandon's outsider status and loneliness more monstrous as the tragedy plays itself out, considering his "idealistic" love of her which would not be bound by common sense. The cinematography, close ups galore of characters flawed faces, and the beauty of life without a vaseline lens works here like a Brueghel print and the commingling of humans and stark environments work beautifully in scenes such as when the dustbowel billows and the navigation involved in driving a car is lost in a mist reminiscent which loses contact with the asphalt beneath it, and loses contact with everything outside of the encapsulated doom of a car with as much navigational plausibility as an airplane trapped in the Bermuda Triangle. Have I used the word trapped? The director, on this first effort, has created a "new realism" which tries to "understand" from all angles and make the pieces which can never fit to do that, and what is accomplished is something of a struggle with feminine nature itself. It is here, in the impossibility of a woman to NOT be at least "buds" and "dudes" with a man that the true pain of womanhood is brought to a head. There is no room among the small town prejudices for an outsider like this, and even less room for a "pervert" like this and the strongest performance of all was turned in by Chloe Sevigny, who as Lana indicated her awareness of the sick and twisted atmosphere by being the pivot around which it swirled. Yet, she understood well enough that the society she kept and her mother's quite obvious religious feelings towards an ex-con like John were something more than dangerous. Lana knew what it was to be trapped, and she was able to translate the anonymity and the stranglehold of her incapacity to Brandon who alive with love drew her to him/her in a way which could make fairy tales seem real and being from "outside" could offer a different perspective, tenderness, and love. The movie became caught in the throat of Brandon just looking at bad girl Lana, a primary reason to stay on in the little community he'd run away to long after the signs were pointing towards a swift getaway. Yet Lana was the one able to say "I don't care if you're a martian" (to paraphrase her response to Brandon's "dilemna") showing the LEAST need of a validating society. The dead end lives of all these people (and the performances, all brilliant, not one less good than the next) could lead a person to pity, vexation, camaraderie, and abject hopelessness. There is no reason for them to find more or look further. In a sense, there world and their lives work in a truncated manner because for them, that is ALL THERE IS. And yet in moments of transcendence they are as open as the dusty highway, they come without batteries, and have nothing to add to their state as "noble savages." If the world worked the way they wanted it too, the way it had worked the day before the "uncanny" appeared in their midst in the guise of a happy go lucky young "wet behind the ears" kid who made the mistake of falling for the mythological pivotal loving "bad girl" Lana-- the archetype of Lilith and Magdalene blended in with the Virgin; one feels that they likely would have believed no REAL tragedy beyond the commonplace sorrows would ever have occurred in that place. Much has been made of Hilary Swank's performance and after seeing THIS movie without visiting the "documentary" it is hard to see any other person, actually, NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to see another person in this role. But when there are scenes that need a "fiery" "touching" sentience, and a "glaring" displeasure with the mundane realities it is not Brandon that understands the "danger" in being complacent in a world where no one dreams but Lana who's intelligence, and charisma could have charmed the socks off other sailors and sent them to their dooms too. The touching quality of a "karaoke torch song singer" a "klumsy t-shirted siren with a cow collection" was a perfect "human" counterpoint and her ease with herself and her feelings were a foil and a sharp contrast to the clumsy Brandon who appeared as strange to the rules of life as he was to the rules of a body he had initially disdained. Even in the scene where Lana pays visit to a confused Teena in prison who is still muddled and has a hard time surveying and understanding the danger his/her presence might bring to those, as unfair as that might be, that must stay behind and live in the small pond world of "Here" Sevigny transmits a subdued, loving, and carefree "girl in the know." For Brandon, young, in love, and a bit stilted as either a male or a female there was simply NO WAY OUT. It is a great tragedy that some sick men who the director potrayed, in a hard edgy game as "ordinary guys" with "severe problems" provided the trapped young man on his journey inward with a permanent way out.
Rating:
Summary: Difficult to watch
Review: A powerful film and Hilary Swank deserves the Oscar. No contest. Too bad Chloe Sevigny's nuanced performance wasn't recognized as well. Really tough to watch some parts of this movie. Although films about white-trash-trailer-park life are almost always unbelievable because of the attractive cast (with the exception of "Gummo", natch), there were many little details about this segment of society that felt authentic.
Rating:
Summary: hilary is really a beautiful wamon!!
Review: i only go for girls, but i am not the same kind of person like brandon. while i saw this movie, i felt his pain. he had been suffered too much during his life. i haven't got the chance to be his friend. i know i'll stand up for him no matter how bad the situation is.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Performances - Wonderful Direction - Must See !
Review: :-------------------------------------------------- Warning : This review reveals critical plot points. From what I've read and seen, Kimberly Pierce fell in love with Brandon Teena. It's that simple. She said as much on "Charlie Rose" and in different publications. It is this kind of forth-right and brave honesty that has allowed her to make such an amazingly powerful film. Most of us already know about the awards and accolades. Hilary Swank acted her way to an Academy Award, Chloe Sevigny to a nomination. It made just about everyone's top 10 list. It got the Big Thumbs Up from Roger Ebert. It won Golden Globes and IFP/West Independent Spirit awards. The list goes on, multiple Film Fest inclusions, etc. People - there is a reason for all the hoop-la. This is, quiet honestly, the most powerful film to hit the American landscape since "Deer Hunter". It is brutal in it's honesty and highly emotional in it's story-telling. Hilary Swank ( previously known for a stint on "Beverly Hills 90210" and a starring role in "The Next Karate Kid" ) deserves every award she's been given. She turns in a standing-ovation of a performance. Nuanced and gentle, swaggering and tough, you will believe that people accepted Brandon as a man, there's no doubt. Hilary Swank became Brandon Teena, they are inseparable. Chloe Sevigny ( from "Kids" and more recently "If These Walls Could Talk 2" and "American Psycho" ) also turns in an amazing performance as Brandon's girlfriend. There is raw emotion and electricity traveling between these young actresses and it lights up the screen. The vision, though, belongs to Kimberly Pierce. She's done an outstanding job directing this film - allowing it to be both brutal ( the rape scene ) and beautiful ( Lana and Brandon making love ). I walked away feeling drained, and I will admit it, a little depressed. I couldn't talk about the film for days, it moved me so personally. You may end up shaking your head, unbelieving, but this is a true story, based on real people. That makes it all the more touching. This film is highly recommended. It's one of the best Independent ( or mainstream for that matter ) Films ever made. You will be moved, that is certain. Best
Rating:
Summary: An excellent independent film
Review: This is a very well-made and thought-provoking movie whose depth and intensity could never be reproduced by Big-Hollywood studios. That is one of the plusses of independent movies, they can take alternative approaches and risks with the film direction that would never see the light of day in the well-established, tried-and-true, set-in-stone methods of Hollywood filmmaking. This is not a movie for the squeamish. The film is very graphic in several ways. The love scene between Swank and Sevigny is pretty eye-opening and adds tremendously to the film's stark realism, a realism which made this film so effective and memorable, and adds so much weight to the final scene that hits you like a sledgehammer. Once Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon's true identity is discovered, her situation deteriorates rapidly and what follows gets pretty hard to watch, and the images will not soon leave your mind. After watching the film I felt similar to how I felt after watching "Schindler's List" and "American Beauty" - it was a good movie that needs to be seen, but I didn't want to watch it a second time.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and memorable film with phenomenal performances
Review: Very moving film about a transgendered youth, Brandon Teena. His tragic life is chronicled in an extremely well acted movie by all. Without a doubt, Hilary Swank is the most deserving recipient of the Best Actress Academy Award in the past 12 years. It makes you think twice about the hatred out there, and the need to start accepting people as they are, as they choose to be. A person who's different in one way may be the kindest person, kindest soul;.... The human side of pain is incredibly well illustrated by Hilary and Chloe. Please be provoked from this film to examine your own life and how you treat others who are different from you.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing....the best movie of the year.
Review: Boys don't cry is a powerful portrayal of the life of a young woman experiencing sexual identity crisis. Based on a true story it depicts the events in the life of Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) offering a thought provoking insight into alternate lifestyles. It delves into the human psyche and combs the inner labyrinths of the human mind to discover some shocking truths very rarely dealt with in the real world. It confronts our deep-rooted fear of accepting the unusual and laments the prevalent intolerance and prejudices that very much are a part of our lopsided system of morals and social conduct. It broadens our horizons and provides us with a more compassionate view towards alternate lifestyles urging us to question the existing hypocrisy and social taboos and view our moral stand in a different light. It is the story of stoic courage, the courage it takes to make a choice and stand by it; the courage it takes to be yourself fighting all odds and overcoming the gnawing fear of rejection. It is the story of hope, of love, of gaining triumph over all your fears and doubts to emerge as the person you want to be and live as. It is also a saga of pain and suffering caused by constant rejection and the clash between the inner spirit and that tamed by the society. The narrative begins as a forthright and moving portrayal of the confused mind of Teena Brandon who feels like a man trapped in a woman's body. As we start understanding Teena Brandon we are introduced to a group of wild, self - destructive youngsters living everyday in a drug - induced stupor. This becomes Brandon's newest circle of friends. Here Brandon also finds true love when he meets Lana (Academy Award nominee for best supporting actress - Chloe Sevigny). For the first time in his life Brandon finds himself embraced by a person who loves him defiantly and accepts him completely with the earnest compassion of a true soul mate. This sets off a bizarre chain of events and as the narrative gathers momentum the stage is set for an intense climax to explode. The culmination of this very powerful drama is shocking, unnerving and thought provoking all at the same time. Hilary Swank renders a heart-warming performance for which she won the Academy Award for best actress. Chloe Sevigny is charming with her lucid acting style and fluid grace.
Rating:
Summary: A Superior Film
Review: A haunting, touching film. Superb acting by Chloe Severgny (sp.) and Hillary Swank. Very convincing love story. (Which I think this movie is.) Stunning.
| 
