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Rating: 4.25 out of 5
I will start this review by saying I fully support the LGBTQIA+ community. Everyone should be happy in their skin and be able to love whoever they want. Many people might disagree with this, but at the end of the day, people should be treated and respected as people. I took a safe space course and thought it was informative, and one everyone should take. There is nothing wrong with someone being different. Many of our famous book or movie characters belong to this community.
Through my adventure of watching all these fantastic Academy Award films, Boys Don’t Cry is one that I wanted to watch because I remembered it was the role Hilary Swank won the Academy Award. I had no idea what the story was about, but when I started this journey in 2019, it was one of the films that seemed to not be around. I checked the school’s library, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, but it was nowhere to be found. After a few years, Hulu graced this movie on its platform. I was very intrigued to watch the film.
Boys Don’t Cry is a film that is not for the faint of heart but a story that needs to be told. It is the dramatization but real-life story of Brandon Teena, a trans man who goes on the journey to find himself, love, and his place in the world, only to be brutally raped and murdered by two male punks who he thought would be cool with him. It is one of the many stories that need to be told, as many trans people have gone through pain and suffering. Even now, this community is still the target of hate.
Directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Peirce and Andy Bienen, Boys Don’t Cry starts off in rural Nebraska with the introduction of Brandon Teena (Swank). Brandon walks a fine line in life with being trans and trying to live his life to the fullest. When his former girlfriend’s brother discovers he is trans and slept with his sister, Brandon receives death threats. This doesn’t stop Brandon; the next day, he is involved in a bar fight and kicked out of his cousin’s trailer. Brandon decides to move to Falls City, where he strikes up a friendship with ex-convicts John Lotter (Sarsgaard) and Tom Nissen (Sexton III), along with Candace (Goranson) and Lana Tisdel (Sevigny). Brandon becomes instantly smitten and becomes into a romantic relationship with Lana, who, at the moment, is unaware that he is trans and in trouble with the law.
Brandon seems to have found the happiness he always craved and the woman he always wanted. Hell, dude even gets some action from Lana and they agree to move to Memphis. Things take a turn for the worse when the police pick Brandon up from charges before and place him in the women’s jail. Rather than coming clean, Brandon lies and says he was born intersex and will receive genital reconstruction surgery. Before he can say any more, Lana declares her love for him. That’s love, baby! Shit starts to get real when Candance finds papers with Brandon’s birth name and shows it to her friends. Things escalate quickly after Brandon and Lana come back from a date.
I will say this is where the film becomes really hard to watch. Tom and John violently confront and assault Brandon in the bathroom. It is a sickening scene to watch. After not being pleased with what they have seen, they drag Brandon to their car, drive off to an isolated place, and gang-rape him. You know that is not the end of it. They pretty much kidnap him and lock him in the bathroom, where he escapes. Tom and John get wasted and come up with the idea that this is bad for everyone and go on the hunt. When the men find Brandon, they roll up on him and kill him.
This is a tragic film and story that no person should go through. This film made sure to hit upon many themes that are still prevalent today. First, this film is a romantic tragedy like Romeo and Juliet, but it is set in a different time and has different characters. You just feel that no happy ending will happen. When the title is Boys Don’t Cry, you know some major tears will happen. The elements and story make this film to watch, learn about, and try to understand the differences between people.
One of the themes that should be explored is the idea of romantic relationships but also ones that are casual. I am not gay or trans, but my primary group of friends is female. I have five of the best friends that I call friends and family. They are all female. I have no issue with it, but trying to date, other females find this a threat. In this film, Brandon and Lana have a great and growing relationship. Lana sees nothing but a person in Brandon and accepts him. That is a great and loving relationship that was snuffed out. On the other side is Brandon’s relationship with John and Tom. Just the way John and Tom act, you know they will not accept Brandon, but he attempts to be cool with them. When they learn about his status as a trans, terrible things happen.
This brings the film to another theme of the film which is violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. Watching the movie, I fully believe that Brandon was murdered because of both homophobia and transphobia. John and Tom can’t comprehend that Lana is a lesbian. Actually, is Lana a lesbian? She sees Brandon as a man and loves him as a man. John and Tom seem to be irate over everything, and the rape scene shows what trans individuals might go through and the hatred that is thrown their way. The scene is brutal and hard to watch, and it makes you feel for Brandon until the very end.
Another theme that I want to touch upon is the culture of the Midwestern United States. You know that area as the bible belt or bible thumbing land. The story takes place in Nebraska; you know there will be almost zero acceptance of being gay during that period. Growing up, I lived in Kansas City during the summers, and I can say that it probably wasn’t cool for someone who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
I want to give major love to Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny. Swank was excellent in this role and even won the Academy Award. Swank is a fantastic actress; she seemed to take on this role head-on and never let it go. I was also impressed with Sevigny. I liked her character and how she didn’t give a damn if Brandon was a woman or trans or whatever. She loved him as a person and how he made her feel and seen.
Boys Don’t Cry is one of those films that everyone needs to watch. Watch it to understand a different community. Watch it to start a conversation with a different community. There is nothing wrong with having conversations and learning about different people and what they have gone through. Don’t judge and listen. This film has a lot of themes that can be explored and discussed, including identity, social class, location, and others. Swank and Sevigny were great in their respective roles and deserved all the accolades. Give this film a watch.
