Rating: 
Summary: Torturous but worth enduring.
Review: Every so often a true story makes its way to our screens. More often than not it's a tale of a battler winning against insurmountable odds, or of the way tragedy can bring a community closer. "Boys Don't Cry" is a true story of a very different kind.In 1993, Brandon Teena was raped and murdered following the discovery by his friends that he was a female - Teena Brandon. Six years later the exploration of the relationships and events leading up to the murder creates one of the most uniquely rewarding cinema experiences of recent years. Sitting through the film is a harrowing experience to say the least. We know the outcome - even with no prior knowledge of the story it is clear from the outset that there is no happy ending in sight - and throughout the film all we can do is wait while Brandon speeds toward his death. Frightening in its certainty, it creates a palpable tension which doesn't leave the viewer until ong after the film. Hilary Swank's portrayal of Brandon is indeed a superlative performance. Her transformation for the role is complete and riveting. Chloe Sevigny - playing Brandon's girlfriend Lana - is arresting also and is likewise worthy of praise. The remaining cast (particularly the two male leads) imbue their roles with tangible dimension, creating a realism seldom found in contemporary cinema. Kimberly Peirce's direction artfully reinforces the underlying themes of the work. This is the first film I've seen in which time-lapse photography is used for thematic effect rather than as a visual stunt. Peirce thankfully avoids sensationalism. Any graphic scenes are handled deftly, illustrating not only her reverence for the story but her ability to create truly visceral cinema. Many will find it a torturous experience, but undoubtedly one worthenduring. END
Rating: 
Summary: does not live up to the media hype
Review: I rented this and I'm glad I didn't spend the money to see it in the theatres. I was very interested in Teena Brandon's life story, but the movie didn't do it justice. The acting and direction was average at best. Some scenes came across like a Lifetime TV movie of the week. Lastly, Hilary Swank's performance was the best of the cast, but NOT worth an Oscar. Chloe Sevigny is also very good, to give her proper credit. Overall, Boys Don't Cry left me feeling BORED.
Rating: 
Summary: It should've been rated at least NC-17
Review: I realize the point of the movie was to portray Teena Brandon's life. But as usual, this was just another movie made for a man. The main goal of the producer was to get in as much lesbian sex & female frontal nudity as possible. Was this really necessary? I think we could get the point of the story without all of that nonsense. This review is for those who do not appreciate the exploitation of women. If I had known how much nudity it involved, I never would have rented the movie!!
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I had heard from a lot of people that this movie was brilliant and incredibly moving, etc. etc. Watching it, I was struck by a few things: the acting was only so-so, the direction was bland, the use of camera was ordinary, the actors were often very hard to understand diction-wise, and the characters' motivations were often incomprehensible (feeling like you're trapped in a body of the wrong gender is a motivation I can understand to some extent--but the desire to go get drunk and be a redneck? I don't get it at all), and, worst of all, the dramatic structure of the movie was very badly-done. Instead of building to a climax, or an anti-climax, or anything effective, it just sort of happened. Maybe that's because it's based on a true story, but in that case they just should've made a documentary. In fact, if it hadn't been true I wouldn't've had any emotional reaction to it at all, because the style of the movie makes it seem completely unreal. That said, if you want to see a really good, depressing, wonderfully acted movie about sexuality issues, see The Boys in the Band.
Rating: 
Summary: Rewind the Tolerance
Review: I admit that I did fast forward through the lesbian-sex scene and rape scenes of "Boys Dont Cry." I got the point that the two young women were in love and, in the rape scene, that two dark, ignorant rednecks were evil. I found some of the middle scenes of the flick to be tedious. If I had been in a theater, I'd have shook my head or gone for a coke during parts. But, the theme was critical: tolerance. It came out loud and clear and is a contemporary message important to us all. I felt a connection with Brandon and sincerely felt her poignant search for what is right. She states after the torrid love scene outside the factory that "I thought that I had finally figured out who I was." Brandon is honestly having a "sexual identity crisis" and pulls the viewer into her plight. I really questioned parts of my own identity after viewing Brandon's. Most intriguing is the mother figure in this story. When first introduced, she is portrayed as a drunk, irresponsible, unemployed "adult." But as the plot continues, she unashamedly confronts the soon-to-be murderers about their intentions to attack Brandon (a threat to their manhood and way of life). These two gooks could easily have "whacked" her also, but she courageously stands her ground. As this mother, in the final scene, is shown with her arm around the young lover of Brandon (her daughter), I admitted to myself that she was truly the most sane character in the entire cast. She gently takes her daughter from the murder scene into a quieter place. She has stayed with her daughter throughout the whole ordeal. Lying drunk on the couch at 2 am in one of the opening scenes, she NOW has become fully engaged in her daughter's life and future.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrenching, Tragic, & Wonderful
Review: Unlike American Beauty, that poeticized fantasy about emotional upheaval in the quietly desperate suburbs, Boys Don't Cry is a raw, true tale about the hatred lying beneath the surface of daily life. Teena Brandon was only 21 when she was raped and, a matter of days later, shot dead in a town south of Lincoln, Neb. Her crime: She wanted to be a man. Calling herself Brandon Teena, she flattened her breasts beneath surgical bandages, inserted stuffing into the crotch of her jeans and passed herself off as a boy among a small group of hard-drinking friends. She was found out and, like an enemy target detected by radar, destroyed. Amazingly directed by Kimberly Peirce, Boys Don't Cry boasts a flawless performance by Swank (The Next Karate Kid) in the main role. The film has a sinewy tautness and, in its brutal ending, a visceral power. Teena can articulate her longing to change sexes, but the others, filled with fear and revulsion when they learn the truth, can only strike out wildly. The two men who rape her afterward call her "little dude," almost affectionately. They seem to have no more self-awareness than dogs. Raw and wrenching film of an outsider's tragic life.
Rating:
Summary: This movie will touch your heart
Review: When my mom rented this movie for me, I didn't want to watch it. But I was bored the same day is was due back, so I sat down with my mom, one of my good guy friends who is gay, and we watched. It was a great movie and it made me cry. It was really touching. It touched my heart and soul and made me think about who I really am and who everyone I know really is. It is a really awesome movie and you should see it. Some parts may harm your feelings a little, but trust me. this move is a MUST SEE!!!
Rating:
Summary: Disjointed story with stellar performances...
Review: It is difficult to give this film an accurate rating since there is such a disparity between the way the story is presented on screen and the individual performances within the film. The story itself is only an average re-telling of real events and it seems rather disjointed when taken at face value. The viewer is supposed to feel Brandon Teena's confusion and emotional highs and lows, but the writing only partly succeeds in that endeavor with the best writing coming toward the end of the picture. Although the technical aspects of the film were average at best, the individual performances more than make up for any weaknesses. Hilary Swank's performance as Brandon was absolutely stunning. Her Academy Award win was very well deserved and it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a better performance in American film. The fact that the Academy chose not to award Chloe Sevigny's performance in this film is something of a travesty given the incredible talent she possesses and the wonderful chemistry she and Swank have on film. Even with a supporting cast of relatively unknown actors, the performances were not hindered in any way. The fact that the actors were so good in this film should go a long way toward proving that a name is truly secondary to talent.
Rating:
Summary: Not too realistic or coherent account of Teena Brandon!
Review: I will say the acting was great, Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny did a terrific job and I believe they captured the spirits of Teena Brandon and Lana Tisdel. My problem is how a lot of events that really happened were altered or ignored. Teena Brandon's life was a lot more than the couple of weeks before she was brutally raped and murdered by two "friends." Also, a third person (named Philip Devine) was murdered in the house. They did not give Teena's murdered friend (played by Roseanne's Lecy Goransen) much attention, and didn't even use her real name. It was like they wanted to sensationalize the fact that Teena Brandon was a lesbian and completely forgot about the two straight people who died (which upset me considering I'm straight but I do have gay/lesbian friends. Any friend could be Lisa Lambert or Philip Devine in a series of terrible moments.) Another problem I have with this movie is how it drags. They try too hard to make them sound uneducated, and some of the accents are too far-fetched. Finally, Lana Tisdel is not reported to have been at the murder scene. It is just too ridiculous to believe that she was there and lived. John Lotter and Thomas Nissen almost killed a baby! A lot of this film is about sexual obsession. It's clear John Lotter was murderous because he was obsessed with Lana, and that was probably true in real life. The rape was horribly violent, and caused me a lot of distress to see. The sheriff's treatment of the young, frightened victim was also horrifying - because the unspoken message was "You're a dyke, you needed it, get over it and shut up." They also didn't even mention Gina Bartu, who Teena Brandon had been engaged to. I read the Aphrodite Jones book All She Wanted before renting this movie, and I recommend you read that first if you want to see the movie, even though I give 4 stars to that book because of a few organization issues I have. Overall, I wouldn't say don't see it, but don't believe it's the whole story or the truest story. Again, the acting was TERRIFIC!
Rating:
Summary: Boys Do Cry
Review: No matter how you see "Boys Don't Cry", the opinion still stays the same: it is a GREAT film. Despite the acting being wonderful (Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Alicia Goransan all were superb---but out of them all, I think Peter Sarsgaard, for his portrayal of John Lotter, deserved the Oscar nomination), the camera work was exquisite and the fight to keep reality in and not mix it with too much fiction was a good touch. This is definitely on my list of one of the best films I have ever seen!
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