By Cynthia W. Gentry, © 2000 by Cynthia W. Gentry, published on Dailygossip.com, January 2000.
Well, darlings, I’ve just seen the performance that, if there were any justice in the world, should win not only a Golden Globe for Best Actress but my little friend the Oscar as well. And it was given not by a famed thespian with a laundry list of credits and the last name of Bening, Streep, Moore or Weaver, but by a 25-year-old most recently seen in “Beverly Hills, 90210.” I’m talking, darlings, about Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry.”
Run out and see this movie immediately while it’s still in the theaters. And that’s an order. It’s hard to believe that this sensitive, devastating movie is director Kimberly Peirce’s debut. And Swank is simply amazing in her portrayal of Teena Brandon, a young Nebraska woman who cut her hair, donned men’s clothes and assumed the identify of a charismatic young man, calling herself Brandon Teena. In fact, Swank won the role by tucking her long blond hair in a cowboy hat and wearing men’s clothes to her audition, where she fooled even the receptionist into thinking she was a man.
Based on a true-life story with an inevitably violent ending, “Boys Don’t Cry” follows Brandon as he escapes legal and other troubles (including the angry male relatives of the girls he effectively and touchingly seduces) in Lincoln, Neb., for what at first seems like a new start in Falls City. There, he thinks he has found the new life and acceptance he craves when he falls in with Lana Tisdel (Chloe Sevigny, in an equally stunning performance) and a crowd that includes Lana’s old boyfriend John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard), his creepy sidekick Tom (Brendan Sexton III), Candace (Alicia Goranson) and Kate (Alison Folland). This strange “family” is presided over by Lana’s hard-drinking mother (Jeannetta Arnette).
It could have devolved into tabloid sensationalism, but in the hands of director Peirce, “Boys Don’t Cry” renders these characters – called “wall people” by the rich kids in town because they hang out against the wall of the Quik Stop – with compassion and insight. Though the film hinges on Swank’s portrayal of Brandon, it is truly an ensemble piece filled with stellar performances.
“I hate my life,” Lana tells Brandon, in whom she finds the promise of escape and, in scenes of incredible eroticism and irony, a gentle and considerate lover. Declaring to his cousin at the beginning of the film that he is “not a lesbian,” Brandon knows exactly what to say to make women feel safe and appreciated, and one of the most interesting things about the film is watching women, despite some misgivings, fall for him. Compared to the loutish males in the film, Brandon is a dream come true: polite, fun-loving, romantic, a perfect gentleman. And Swank never strikes a false note.
Neither does Sevigny (who should win several Best Supporting Actress statues). As Lana, Sevigny shows us a young woman who at first sees in Brandon a way to escape her hated life, but who gradually comes to give Brandon complete acceptance for who he is inside, no matter what other people or even her own eyes tell her.
This is a film that delves fearlessly into a multitude of issues: personal and sexual identity, the need for family and connection, the nature of emotional intimacy, the need to be accepted for who we are, and the plight of those who see no way to achieve the vaulted American dream. I could go on and on, but let’s just say that “Boys Don’t Cry” gets four stars from moi.