Rating: 
Summary: Learn about the real ignorance in society
Review: First of all, it seems like over half of the reviewers on here need a little background in Transgender education. Brandon Teena was a F2M (Female to Male) and would have been labeled a Transsexual by any competent psychiatrist. Transsexualism is a medical condition caused by having a sexed brain that is exactly oppposite of the body. If medical technology has advanced to the point where we can clone people and cure diseases, why is it so difficult to understand that this is a medical condition. If you are skeptical about this, read the current medical literature and educate yourself rather than mislabeling it.We don't go around discriminating against handicapped people yet we still teach lies and myths regarding proper gender behavior in society. I applaud Brandon Teena for expressing who he was as a person, yet I don't think it was very smart for him to go about it in the manner that he chose. Gender isn't as black and white as everyone thinks, just because you're born with certain organs doesn't change how you see your sense of self.
Rating: 
Summary: Get your facts straight
Review: I would just like to point out that Brandon Teena was not a butch lesbian, as some people have stated in their reviews. Brandon Teena was a F2M transgendered person who should be referred to as a he, not a she, and most definately not as a butch lesbian. If anyone was confused by his identity in the movie, I suggest you read up on transgender identities and issues before you post an ignorant review.
Rating:
Summary: Watch It Over & Over Again
Review: This is a very important movie and I recommend it to anyone (over 18 only because of the violence and sexuality).
The true story of Teena Brandon, "Boys Don't Cry" will make you sick, sad, and intrigued at the same time. Having grown up in a small rural town full of tunnel-visioned people, I can relate with the movie from the stand point of being different and sticking out like a sore thumb.
Yes, this film has been "Hollywood-ized", but the true story it is based upon has been told without apology or disclaimer. Because it is an independent film, it doesn't have the big-budget look, and it really doesn't need it. The story gets told honestly, and with a story like this, it wouldn't have been right any other way.
Hillary Swank deserved her Oscar for this, and you will believe her portrayal of a woman trying her darndest to be a guy. Many times, I forgot that she was a woman, but not in a campy, impersonator-type way. She looks like a young, baby-faced boy/man, and has the mannerisms, look, and lingo down.
This is a tragic tale and Teena Brandon was definitely a messed-up individual, however, her gender-identity really takes a back seat to her up-bringing, her choice of friends, her habitual lying, and troubles with the law. Because of the combination, she is ignored by her family and the legal-system; the two entities anyone should be been able to count on. In the end, these are the things that kill her - the two morons who pull the trigger are just the vehicle. Still, you will end up hating the killers and see their backwards, red-necked male-macho baloney for what it is way before the movie heats up.
This is more than just a transgender movie, it is a complex tale that includes a cast of characters you have probably known once or twice in your life. And that, hopefully, will make you think about and compel you to see this movie more than once. It's message deserves that you do.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to watch; impossible not to
Review: This is the movie that really put Hilary Swank on the map. She plays Brandon Teena, a cute and innocent-looking teenager who is befriended by a bunch of rednecks and starts living the life he's always hoped to live. There's hell to pay when it's discovered that Brandon is really a girl, dealing with sexuality issues that have plagued his entire life.
Based on the 1993 real-life story of Teena Brandon, this movie went over the top in terms of popularity, primarily because of Swank's unsentimental performance that brought Brandon's conflicts and passions heartbreaking to life. It's hard to imagine using the word "sweet" to describe a movie as agonizing and sad as this one it, but there you have it - and most people will feel nothing but respect for Brandon as the closing credits roll.
Rating:
Summary: Gender Trouble
Review: This is the type of film that questions all boundaries of what constitutes sexuality--what makes a man a man or a woman a woman, and to what extent 'heterosexuality' socially define one's true disposition toward sex. It shows the real life retribution for unwanted transgressions beyond one's supposed natural sexuality, not lesbianism represented by two blond, naked, socially constructed beauties, female exhibitionist in a vulgar display for the male voyeur. What makes this film great is that it dares to defy social stereotypes--it is mainstream (almost) and yet manages to remain entirely subversive.
Rating:
Summary: Food for thought...
Review: I watched this movie when I was 17 - young enough for this poignantly bittersweet (or should I say sweetbitter) story to stamp its unforgettable mark in my mind. Hilary's acting was stellar in this - yet in real life she's not at all like that butch lesbian girl she plays in this movie, and so I found it hard to re-adjust my impression of her after seeing her in other movies and in magazines with long hair and being feminine and all... The acting was so good that I honestly detested every single guy that appeared in this movie for being the horrible ba****ds that they were, even though (I know, I know) they are just actors and the real ones are out there and I don't even know how they look. But still... ironically if I'd met my husband back then I'd probably not even give him a second look. This is one of those movies you either want to watch or can't be bothered to. If you're a guy who really can't be interested in spending some of your time watching a film about 1)a really butch Hilary Swank and 2)a tearjerking movie, then save yourself the trouble. This is a chick-flick in many respects - its theme is about lesbianism, and the fact that this was based on a real life story of Brandon Teena in a stuffy-minded town in Nebraska made it all the more depressing. I walked away hoping in my heart that she's happy now wherever she is. But then this didn't have to happen to her. So all the more it affirms the fact that life's not fair. This movie is also studded with surrealistic blurry images which actually made the budding love story between Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny even more compelling... The soundtrack was excellent and suited this movie's scenes so well. Watch it if you like a semi-romantic and tragic drama... you'll never forget this. I never did.
Rating:
Summary: A Must See Film!
Review: This movie was great. A true ove story. About hope. And being your self. Brandon was him self. He was happy. Sadly he was killed for not being what the world thought he should be. I love this film. I have seen it 8 times already. And I know I will watch it many many more.
The story was told with such amotion. You can see the love Brandon had, the feer he had, the hurt, the sadness. I love the begining best. With all of its comic reliefs. It gives you time to know Brandon, and to love him.
The end is very desturbing. The beating, the humilation, the rape. The murder.
All to sad.. but all true. NO ONE deserves to be beat, stiped of your pride, raped, and murdered. Boy or girl. Gay or strate. Young or old.
Tom and John messed up there own lifes, there familys lifes, and the life of those 3 people they killed, and there family and friends.
This story is truly sad. But this film is wonderful. I Love hilary and colie preformances! They deserve more awards then they got. and so does the film!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies of the 90's
Review: Boys Don't Cry is the kind of movie you go to the movies to see. Director Kimberly Peirce (in unbelievably- her first feature length film) does, what I believe, the point of cinema is to do: she connects us fully and powerfully to the characters onscreen, and via that connection, communicates something unique about society. In this case, the characters are disillusioned, Nebraska youth and the message is gender, the mystery and illusion of sex, the roots of bigotry, the perils and raptures of youthful idealism, etc. Each viewer can interpret what the film is symbolically "about" and have a wealth of evidence to back their interpretations up -its dexterity is that universal, and certainly transcends the label "gay film." At the center of the film is Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) a real-life girl who thought of herself as a boy and proceeded to be very sexually successful with many young women- until his untimely rape and murder at the hands of his friends. According to the excellent DVD commentary, Peirce wanted to create a classic male American anti-hero like Montgomery Clift and Jake la Motta to enable the transvestite Brandon Teena an accessible character. So in the grand traditions of those heroes, Brandon is a charismatic, self-proclaimed "a-hole"- full-bodied and believable because of his moral in addition to sexual ambiguities. The film charts Brandon's rise and fall with a group of people in Falls City that society undoubtedly pegs "trailer trash." Brandon meets the violent but friendly John (Peter Sarsgaard) who hangs out with the masochistic Tom (Brendan Sexton III). Brandon's vulnerability, as a woman, and as a kid trying to fit in, drives the story's menace as his new friends reveal themselves as violent, baneful influences. Though they easily could have been easy portraits of machismo gone wrong, Peirce clearly extends her empathy to John and Tom, portraying them as products of abusive, ignorant environments. This is also true of Lana, (Chloe Sevigny) a red-haired, sleepy-eyed young woman who falls for Brandon's winsome, contextually exotic charms. Lana embodies a number of qualities: grace under fire, the effects of parental alcoholism, soul-depleting minimum wage jobs, and, as critic David Edelstein noted, the allusive quality of sex, when she becomes a willing participant in deception. She is duped not by low self-esteem but by that intangible illusion necessary in loving someone. Rapturously displayed in a series of lyrically filmed erotic scenes, Brandon and Lana's sex life fully illuminates the film's psychosexual themes, with Lana at its symbolic heart. It says something magnificent about Peirce and Sevigny that they can make Lana mean so much without compromising (and in fact benefiting from) her individuality. At the end of the film, she's a believable human being, not a poster child. The commentary track by Kimberly Peirce is enlightening and informative and funny, engaging the viewer/listener in an active conversation. One thing I found particularly interesting were her insightful ruminations upon the pop music used in her movie. The Cars "Just What I Needed;" The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry;" Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesdays Gone;" and Little Texas's "Bluest Eyes in Texas" each have a profound effect on the tone and meaning of their respective scenes. Peirce explains the pain-staking measures she took to ensure that the music was properly integrated into the movie's mileu. By the end of Boys Don't Cry, I was in tears, both sad and happy. I was sad that Brandon Teena had died so brutally. And I was happy that Kimberly Peirce had just created such a beautiful movie. Its psychosocial critical eye is matched only by its compassionate exaltation of humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful movie
Review: This is one of the most powerful movies released in 1999. "Boys Don't Cry" is an educator about the realities of living transgendered. The fears, confusion, and love affairs are accurate. Parts of this movie may be disturbing, but it's necessary to inform the audience of what happened. Hilary Swank performs delightfully in the role of Brandon Teena, deserving her the Oscar for Best Actress. The writers also dig deep into body shape securities. Chloe Sevigny expresses this greatly in her Oscar nominated role as Lana, Teena's girlfriend. Lana proves that there are people who accept transgender lifestyle. Many movies about homosexuality are released, but not many about transgenders are released. Therefore, the producers, director, and writers were under further pressure trying to give it extra quality. They did everything right. Those who are offended by such issues must get over it and watch this movie. This is guaranteed to touch everyone's heart. Why didn't "Boys Don't Cry" receive more Oscar nominations? Who knows.
Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenching, powerful, intelligent
Review: Hilary Swank won an award for her powerful portrayal of Teena Brandon, the sexual identity-confused woman on the run from the law. This film is very powerful, as it invokes various amounts of intense emotion and thought within the viewer, and the fact that this is based on a true story is what makes the film the more powerful. A quick synopsis on the film: Teena Brandon (who dresses like a boy, and goes by the alias of Brandon Teena) gets into a barfight over a girl named Candace (played by Alicia Goranson, as seen on television sitcom Roseanne), and in the midst of this, meets her friends John (played by Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (played by Brendan Sexton III), two ex-cons. Teena becomes buddies with these two, and they invite her to a party in their hometown. The next day, they go to a different bar, and she then meets the moody and enigmatic Lana (played by Chloë Sevigny), along with her mother (played by Jeanetta Arnette) and one of Lana's friends, Kate (played by Allison Folland.) Things seem quite bright and rosy, as Teena seems to be accepted as if she were one of the family. She seems to become one of the boys along with Tom and John, drinking and getting into trouble like any typical young misfit would. She develops an ever-blossoming love relationship with Lana, which helps to showcase some of the most beautiful, heartwarming and poignant attributes of the film. Everything seems quite lovely. Later, things start to take a turn for the worse, as Teena's skeletons start to catch up with her, and the guise she depended on slowly starts to crumble. The beautiful lie gets shattered, and everything that was once peaceful becomes corrupted, and ultimately, she payed the price in one of the worst ways possible. As things start to crumble for Teena, the viewer's emotions start to spiral downhill from what was once an ethereal, transcendent disposition in quite an intense, earth-shattering way as well. You start to feel bad for Teena, and start to sympathize with her, even though she's made quite a few mistakes (e.g. breaking the law, lying about her real gender.) That's one of the many things that made this film so profound. Hilary Swank gave a powerful and convincing performance, and I think she deserved the award she won indefinitely. Chloë Sevigny also gave an excellent performance as the moody, enigmatic and sympathetic Lana, who seemed to have quite a bit underneath her surface. She should have won an award as well. I can't stress these actresses enough (along with the director and film in general.) An excellent, powerful film, this is one of my all-time favorite movies. This review won't do it any justice. It's beautiful, sad, ethereal, poignant, atmospheric and disturbing all at once. I highly recommend it to people who think they can handle this story. Also, check out the documentary called "The Brandon Teena Story" if you've watched this movie, and wanted more information regarding the story, since this movie was based on that documentary. However, the documentary is more disturbing than the film.
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