Starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Alicia Goranson, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton, Alison Folland Matt McGrath, Jeannetta Arnette. Directed by Kim Peirce. Teena Brandon (Swank) lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her cousin Lonny (McGrath), and is having an identity crisis - a sexual identity crisis. She is attracted to women, but believes she's a man trapped in a woman's body, and goes around as Brandon. One night, he makes a date with a pretty high school girl, and gives her a generous kiss at the date's conclusion. The girl's brothers and friends find out, and literally chase him out of town. Brandon lands at a bar in hick town Falls City and meets a seemingly shy girl at the bar Candace (Goranson). Suddenly, he's in a fight with a big fat redneck, and just escapes, with the help of Candace's friend John (Sarsgaard). Candace takes Brandon home, and next morning he discovers she's a young mother of a bouncing boy. She takes him to the bar the next night, and they meet John and fellow ex-con Tom (Sexton). Suddenly, Kate (Folland) and Lana (Sevigny) walk into the bar and do a nice karaoke number with Candace. Brandon immediately falls for Lana. Brandon, charming and attractive, is liked by everyone, especially the girls. Soon, Brandon and Lana hook up, and they become intimate. But not too intimate - Lana does not discover Brandon's secret. Brandon has to return to Lincoln to face court charges of forgery and theft. But once he gets there he chickens out and returns to Falls City to see Lana, and they become closer. But, eventually his secret is discovered. And all hell breaks loose. Boys Don't Cry is based on the true story of Teena Brandon, who fooled an entire town for a period of time. Used to concealling the truth about him/herself, Brandon is able to be charming and ingratiating, doing enough rugged, stupid boy things to be one of the guys, and attractive and sensitive enough to be loved by every girl he meets. The film depicts Brandon as a lovable, decent sort, despite his brushes with the law and inability to tell the truth about anything. The other characters are equally well-written and fleshed out, none being entirely bad or good. Even the extremely violent, homophobic ex-cons have some redeeming values - they are just nasty when they drink. And they drink a lot. Swank is sensational as Teena/Brandon. Even though we know she's a girl, and we are often reminded of it by seeing her wrap her breasts, insert a sock in a strategic place and put on her tampons, there are times when I forgot - she melds into the role. And several scenes are riviting. For example, after being raped and then interrogated about it by the police, she is forced to admit to her secret and her sexual confusion and you can feel her shame and loss of dignity. She is full value for her academy award nomination, and could appropriately win it. Sevigny evolves from a tough, trashy teen anxious to get out of her small town to a loving, understanding friend of Brandon's, even when she discusses his secret - she too is a fine nomination. The rest of the cast authentically portrays members of small-town middle America as real people. The main weakness in the film is it's failure to fully explain Lana's seemingly easy acceptance of Brandon's secret, especially the boy-inside-a-girl's-body concept. There is one scene which seems to indicate Lana suspects early on, and doesn't seem to care. But she protests several times she is not a lesbian, and Brandon's eventual female unveiling doesn't seem to lessen her interest in him/her. There is also no explanation why the boys go after Brandon in such a fierce way, not once but twice, and why Brandon didn't get his butt out of Falls City on one of the many times he could have. He seems to try and get into trouble. But the unique story, and exceptional performances make Boys Don't Cry worth seeing. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page