Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood Hype or a tale of pure fiction
Review: After seeing the movie the first time, I asked my husband to watch it with me. I had mixed emotions about the film the first time and have watched it several times since. It is an electrifying movie & leaves the viewer with a sense of "something's wrong here."I purchased the book and realize that the movie is very loosely based on Teena Brandon's selfishly pursued identity crisis. The first half of the book deals with Teena's background and points to her aberrant behavior at an early age; beginning with her use of people. She stole from her mother and lied to her and her sister. By the time she completed the transfer from girlhood to boyhood and completely took on the male identity, she was deceiving all her "female" relationships. She used each of her female relationships as a stepping-stone to other relationships. The "girlfriends" seemed emotionally brainwashed such that when confronted with the truth of Teena's true identity, they refused to believe it. Her mother followed her along and tried to clean up her messes. When she got into serious trouble with the law, she skipped and left her mother or her prior relationships to deal with the crisis. The movie does not reflect these attributes of "Brandon," it leads us to believe that she was a misunderstood individual struggling with her identity while trying to fit into society. Whereas, in reality, she caused all the problems that seemed to plague her which lead to her own downfall. Her transgender and sexual identity aside, she came across as a self-absorbed narcissist who shunned real help when offered and strung people along for her own benefit without regard to the outcome. One real incidence in the movie reflects this: she never allowed Lana to observe her sexuality, while she herself was promulgating her own manhood. By the time her "girlfriends" found out her true sexual identity they were so emotionally attached that they were often confused and bewildered. Hence being in the wake of Brandon's affairs left them in a quandary as to their own sexuality. Returning to normal life seemed hard for them. I do not judge people who are consenting adults, but in this case most of her "girlfriends" were minors and all were not allowed to "choose" to be in a lesbian relationship. They were not given that choice - this choice was forced upon then by deceptive means. I do not believe that she should have been murdered, but do understand the feelings of rage that accompanied the murders. I do not see this as a "HATE CRIME" in the fact that she was not murdered for her sexual choice, it was that she deliberately concealed that choice. And, it is not a homophobic case, because, as everyone states, Teena Brandon (in her own admission) was not a homosexual, just a gender choice. The movie is found lacking in the setup for the murder: the real Teena Brandon. However, it does allude to the fact that she forged checks in one instance, but does not go into details that she was a wanted felon for abuse of ATM cards, grand theft auto, etc. All in all, the movie seemed bias to the fact that she was murdered for who she was instead of what she had done to arrive in that situation. In my view, I wonder what would've been the outcome of Teena Brandon if she'd been truthful and forthright in her relationships and faced up to her lawlessness instead of running away each time she faced a dilemma. Instead she brought havoc & destruction everywhere and to everyone she came in contact with. In my opinion, Teena Brandon lacked respect - first of all for herself, for property, for the laws, and most importantly, for other human beings. Not only is Brandon Teena, the character in the book and movie a sad character, but also the person Teena Brandon, as in her own words, "I don't see where I did anything wrong." And, "Brandon did not identify as a lesbian, saying [s]he was disgusted by the idea of loving a woman that way." If you liked the movie but are left with questions, I suggest you read the books. So much was left out of the movie that is seems surreal - like a true Hollywood make-believe movie. Do not take this "based on a true story" movie for face value - a lot of important information was left completely out of the film. But overall, it was a good movie for the sake of watching a movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Anatomy of a hate crime
Review: When I watched this film, I was completely unprepared of what I was in for. I knew nothing about the Brandon Teena case, so watching the story unfold before my eyes was something of a shock. Hilary Swank won her well-deserved Oscar for playing a woman living as a man in rural Nebraska. She befriends two ex-cons who later strip, beat, rape, and finally murder her when they find out her true gender. It's a film that is not for all tastes, but if you can stomach the violence, then this film should be added to your "must-see" list.
Rating:
Summary: Touching.........But hard to watch.
Review: This must be one of the best films I have ever viewed. It is extremely touching, but some pieces are hard to view. This film shows many of the aspects of an often shunned disorder, and it's social consequences. This film shows a gripping look at gender idenity disorder, and how it is publically viewed as wrong. It is the story of Brandon Teena, and the love of his life. But of course since he was anatomically a girl, this was viewed as wrong since the one he loved was a woman. Since others in his close community of "friends" could not handle thw truth they killed him. It's a wonderful film, but be prepared to feel ill, and in some scenes, turn your head.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes they do
Review: This movie really made me think about sexual differences and what it means to have a sex change or to want one, or to be trapped in a gender you don't want. It was very effective to have us see Hilary Swank (who plays Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon) with short hair and male facial expressions and gestures without giving us a glimpse of her as Teena. (Actually we did get a brief glimpse in a photo.) Swank looks like a boy, acts like a boy, in fact works hard to be a boy; indeed that is (sadly) part of what this movie is about, what it means to be a boy in middle America as opposed to being a girl. And then when we have the scene with the tampons and the breast wrapping and we see her legs, the effect is startling, an effect possibly lost on those who knew that the person playing Brandon was a woman. It was when I saw her legs and could tell at a glance that she was a woman with a woman's legs that I realized just how subtle, but unmistakable are the anatomical sexual differences, and how convincing Swank's portrayal was. I was reminded as I watched this of being a young person, of being a teenager and going through all the rituals and rites, unspoken, unplanned, without social sanction, that we all go through to prove our identity, because that is what Brandon was so eager to do, to prove his identity as a boy. I thought, ah such an advantage he has with the girls because he knows what they like and what they want. He can be smooth, and how pretty he looks. It was strange. I actually knew some guys in my youth who had such talent, and the girls did love them. The direction by Kimberly Peirce is nicely paced and the forebodings of horror to come are sprinkled lightly throughout so that we don't really think about the resolution perhaps until the campfire scene in which John Lotter shows his self-inflicted scars and tosses the knife to Brandon. Then we know for sure, something bad is going to happen. Hilary Swank is very convincing. Her performance is stunning, and she deserved the Academy Award she won for Best Actress. She is the type of tomboy/girl so beloved of the French cinema, tomboyish, but obvious a girl like, for example, Zouzou as seen in Chloe in the Afternoon (1972) or Élodie Bouchez in the The Dreamlife of Angels (1998), or many others. Indeed, one is even reminded of Juliette Binoche, who of course can play anything, or going way back, Leslie Caron in Gigi (1958). Chloe Signvey, who plays Lana Tisdel, the girl Brandon loves, whom I first saw in Palmetto (1998), where she stole a scene or two from Woody Allen and Elisabeth Shue, really comes off ironically as butch to Swank, yet manages a sexy, blue collar girl next door femininity. She also does a great job. Peter Sarsgaard is perfect as John Lotter, trailer trash car thief and homophobic redneck degenerate. Very disturbing is the ending. If you know the story, you know the ending. Just how true this was to the real life story it is based on is really irrelevant. I knew nothing about the story, but I know that film makers always take license to tell it the way they think it will play best, and so it's best to just experience the film as the film, independent of the real story, which, like all real stories, can never be totally told. Obviously this is not for the kiddies and comes as close to an "X" rating as any "R" movie you'll ever see. It will make most viewers uncomfortable, but it is the kind of story that needs to be told.
Rating:
Summary: A Brave Film
Review: After having seen this film, as a law student, I was on the verge of full blown tears. This brave film explores the haunting realities of America. I feel that this film is a must for everyone to see. My compassion goes to all who have suffered under this type of discrimination. This film will hopefully serve as an eternal monument to the bravery of Brandon Teena. I shall not forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Deeply touching film.
Review: Although it was somewhat hard to watch at times, I found it to be a beautiful film. I thought it would be a deppresive film, but it is not. Disturbing, maybe, but beautiful. By the way, the actress named Chloe something, that played Lana, is great in the film.
Rating:
Summary: Hit the audience over the head, why don't ya?
Review: I will join in giving this movie kudos on its production values. Right off hand, I can't think of any other independent movie that has matched this one in the areas of acting and direction. But I found it very hard to be moved by the film for the single reason that the characterizations were too extreme. The "white trash" boys were too evil, and far too much effort was spent trying to get the audience riled up against their narrow-mindedness. And Brandon Teena was way too angelic and innocent; this was completely at odds with his criminal past and his facility at lying. So by the time the dramatic climax came, I felt like I was watching propoganda. This sort of overboard rendition of the story does a disservice to the real lessons of the ordeal that Brandon endured. [I might have rounded this rating up to four stars, but I ended up rounding it down because of the Featurette on the DVD version - it was downright offensive. In it, the filmmakers get on-screen and gush about how this was a story about "individualism" and "living your own life no matter what other people think." In their desire to elevate Brandon to hero status, the filmmakers equate "being out-of-control" with "being free", a bad message to be sending. With respect to Brandon, this story has a lot more to do with how his confusion over his sexual identity led to confusion in the rest of life, and how this confusion led to bad decisions and self-destruction.]
Rating: 
Summary: Story Distorted
Review: Real life events should have no bearing on the work of fiction except when the aforementioned work claims to be based on a true story. Boys Don't Cry claims to be based on the real life murder of Teena Brandon, but gets a lot of it wrong. The true life tragedy brought to the forefront a lot of issues involving poverty, domestic violence, violence against women, women's position in rural society to name a few. Unfortunately about 85% went unnoticed because the public eye immediately focused on the cross-dressing, gay bashing, political implication to the exclusion of everything else. This film takes the already narrow view of the story and strips it even more of the real person in it by transforming it into a traditional butch lesbian romance to the 80's New Wave of the Cure while the real person was mad about the square dancing and everything country and western to name one instance. The story is simplified further by reducing the motivation of the bad guys to simple ignorance and out of control anger. No sense is given of the protagonist's past or what drives him. Fictional scenes are added to make the marginal guys good and bad guys into people who could not help themselves. Also gone is the bravado, the arrogance and the flamboyance of the true life Brandon replaced by the strong solitude of the "Karate Kid" Hillary Swank. The actors are good, but the casting os off and the historical person who was tiny, slight and driven by nervous energy is replaced by a tall and reserved sailor/soldier type, creating a totally different feel. The director and the actors try hard, but they would have been much better off creating their own drama about a similar incident rather than trying to mimic history.
Rating:
Summary: Tolerance
Review: Brilliant. Heart-breaking. Frustrating. Frightening. Learn why it's important to embrace differences and be sympathetic to all of mankind. What it means to be true to your spirit, even if you're not perfect and surrounded by hate and ignorance. Shows how love is affected by those around you.
Rating:
Summary: A tale of love deeper and stronger than life itself.
Review: Before buying this movie i had already watched THE BRANDON TEENA STORY and I knew a lot about Brandon Teena. Since my first time of hearing the story I have been deeply gripped by it, Brandon may be a stranger to me but I felt something. This movie has followed the life of Brandon and his struggles and his love for Lisa. His fears and his hopes of triumph. Hilary Swank is amazing as Brandon. I have never seen an actor play a part with such belief and realism. I forgot it was Hilary and saw her as Brandon. Chloe Servigny was great as Lisa Tisdale. I could see the passion she shared with Brandon. A lot of strong actors made this movie moving, gripping and thought provoking. Watch this movie, it will change your outlook on life, i guarantee it.
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