Boys Don't Cry

This movie was well directed, well written, and had a great cast! SPOILERS... A girl wants to be a boy, so she "dresses" and "acts" like a boy, hoping to fool all of her girlfriends until she can have sexual reassignment surgery. In the documentary, it's actually revealed that when Teena/Brandon was killed, that two other people were also killed, including an African American male (which is not included in the movie). So much sadness.

I finally checked this out and found the entire proposition hilarious. Lemme see here. A woman dresses like a man, goes out on dates with some trailer park trash. It takes two hours for the mopes in that neck of the woods to figure it all out?

"Boys Don't Cry" tells the true tale of Brandon Teena, a girl suffering from sexual identification disorder: she was born an actual female, but desires to be a guy through sexual reassignment surgery. The plot follows Brandon as "he" enounters a lot of trailer trash-type individuals, and the story concludes with Brandon being raped by two men who he associated with who learned Brandon was actually a girl. These two men eventually murder Brandon. The film is harrowing, yet truthful and is one of those rare American movies that shows the hatred against those that are different or are perceived to be abnormal. The film broke during the time Matthew Sheppherd was murdered, and as a result many were curious to view "Boys Don't Cry". Hilary Swank desevedly received the Oscar in 1999 for Best Actress in a Motion picture. For those who enjoyed "Boys Don't Cry" NBC released "The Matthew Sheppherd Story", so if you happen to come across it on televison viewings I would suggest in watching it: it... Read more

True story in which Hillary Swank absolutely inhabits the mind and body of Brandon Teena, aka, Tina Brandon. You may be a little confused by the gender confusion at first. I was. Cloe Savigny is perfect, too, as the white trash girlfriend with a little drug habit. Some arty moments just add to the overall moody vibe of this tale of dark doom.

I had no idea what this film was about when I borrowed it from the library, but I was sold by the message that it was "a true story about hope, fear and the courage it takes to be yourself." In this film, I have discovered a story that is powerful, moving and inspirational. Hillary Swank played the role of Brandon Teena, a transgendered teenager struggling for acceptance, with such gusto that it is little surprise she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role. Her portrayal of Brandon was believable and seemed to me to be on-target. Swank is aided by a phenomenal cast whose performance bring to life the many complicated emotions in this story. The story itself is important. Transgendered individuals and the transgender experience are underrepresented in our cultural literacy. Along with films, such as TransAmerica, Boys Don't Cry puts a human face on transgender issues and gender dysphoria. This is a compelling story passionately told and should be seen at lea... Read more

A little long but intriguing enough to stick it out. Chloe Sevigny is always interesting to watch...

I saw part of the movie last night, and I'm probably going to send it back and watch it some other time. It's an excellent movie, but I could see where it was going and I just wasn't up for it emotionally. I've got other stuff in my life, and while I don't need happy endings I think this one is probably going to end pretty badly. Everybody's performances were off the scale in quality. The writing was brilliant. It isn't too preachy, and in some respects not really judgmental of even the perps. If anything it tries to humanize them, and give them credit for more depth than the real life characters probably had. Now, having read the other reviews before posting, I am definitely going to wait for another time to see it. I do want to point something out however. This movie isn't about "lifestyle choices." It isn't about lesbianism. Swank's character made it very clear that she was not a lesbian. She was a man born with the wrong parts. This is essentially about somebody with a... Read more

I was dragged to this. . .I had my mind made up before I saw it- PC junk Boy was I wrong. A solid dramatic film based on real events. Hillary Swank (who clearly has left her awful Karate Kid movie behind her) was terrific and believeable. Good film. . .but unpleasant to watch the final violent sequence- be warned.

This movie is so sad. That poor girl had to put up with so much crap from these crazy bastards. How could they do that to another human being is beyond me. Hilary Swank really gives a good performance.

An incredibly powerful and intense movie. It reminded me of "American History X" with the atmosphere and mood of the story and its setting. The characters are all wonderfully developed, and the movie is very interesting all the way through. Hillary Swank was Oscar-material with her amazing performance in this film. It is a very emotional TRUE story, and was well worth watching. Highly reccomended!

I'm a bit late in coming in on this, but I count "Boys Don't Cry" as among one of my favorite films. It is raw, powerful, disturbing and heartwrenching. Hilary Swank was amazing and totally deserved the Oscar! The supporting cast was great as well, from Chloe Sevigny as the just-as-confused lover of Brandon to Peter Sarsgaard as sociopathic killer John Lotter. The first time I saw it I wasn't too sure, but after watching it a few more times, I really got into the story. The fact I used to live just over an hour from where the real Teena Brandon was murdered (I now live in Omaha) hit close to home. Seeing the movie helped me become, well, obsessed with the real case. I've been to Falls City, I've seen the house Brandon was murdered in, I've been to her grave in Lincoln, it just blows your mind that something like this happened in America in 1993! The story is more along the lines of a racial lynching in the South in the 1920s, but it is real, it happened right under our noses in late 19... Read more

Boys Don't Cry was a film i eagerly anticipated. I heard it was a power house film with a deep message. This film was powerful. All brawn and no brain however. Giving us all the sh*t that being a cross dressing lesbian woman woman can bring upon you and those you love. What was the point? What did we learn? Back woods hicks are ignorant killers? That you shouldn't be a cross dressing lesbian? Don't get me wrong, the film had some phenominal performances, Hilary Swank especially does an inceredible job as the young woman possing as a young man. It also contained some bitingly real scenes that almost hurt to watch. But what was the lesson? What do we take away from the film except a horrible sese of dread and guilt? I cried for an hour after this movie. And felt i had learned not one damn thing after suffering through this characters ordeal. The only reason i gave it a two star review is for the sheer power and the incredible acting. Beyond that, this film is a torture to witness and sit... Read more

Too much sex...but I liked the storyline

This is an incredibly powerful film. And it is heart-wrenching, make no mistake about it. The performance by Hillary Swank is utterly amazing, and Chloe Sevigny is also fantastic in her role. It will make the homophobic among us quite uncomfortable, I'm sure. If you can keep an open mind and open heart, you can feel for these people deeply and care what happens to them. Brandon Teena is not portrayed as a perfect person, but as a human being with faults and with dreams and needs that are shunned by most people around him. These things do happen in real life if you choose to recognize it. This film sheds light on intolerance in a pioneering and honest way. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Good movie. It was such a hardcore drama, that it overwhelmed me with mixed feelings about it. I'm not the weird movie type of person, and I would have probably given this movie a four if it wasn't because of how much raping and freaky stuff happened in the movie.

I finally rented this movie a few weeks ago and it is pretty intense. I had heard how good Hilary Swank was, but she was even better than I expected (after all, I had seen her in 90210 and she didn't exactly distinguish herself opposite Ian Zeiring). What's truly amazing is that this is best on a true story. You find yourself feeling for Brandon who definitely has his obvious faults. If you're looking for a pick-me up, look elsewhere. But, if you want to see a well-acted, interesting movie, you could do a lot worse than this one.

I haven't seen it, but I want to. There's just a response I would like to make to ToddsternOhio. Are you sure you are a student of film and cinematography, or are you a narrowminded idiot????? I have never read so much crap that makes me feel angry. Did you know that the human body has male and female hormones, so if there was an imbalance, then that person would either be more feminine or masuline. And there have been many cases of where the person should have been born as the other sex. There are many people in this world who succeed dressing up as the opposite sex and getting away with it. Surely you watch the Jerry Springer Show - you get lots of cases of where a man decides to be a woman and has a boyfriend - and he doesn't know. In Japan, there are men who transform themselves into women who look very realistic. My sister gets mistaken for a young boy. So you were saying.....

Did not compare to Hurrican, Erin Brokovich or 13 days. Could have done a better job at detailing the characters and plots based on a true story - could have flowed better. Just OK

It depicts real life features of the gay/lesbian society and it was quite fine in showing the problems that may arise in such a society.

I thought this movie was pretty good, just because I found the true story very fascinating. I thought it was cool that they made a movie about it, since the real story was on the TV all the time. Hillary Swank did a very good job; it's pretty hard to act like the opposite sex and have people believe you. I thought it was a little far-fetched, but good!

Poor story. Made no sense.

What a waste of my time to see a film this poorly done. How can you sell such a faulty premise to a mass audience is beyond me. If this reflects a real life account as bizarre as that would be, then sanity in general is left to question, what I mean is simply this....THERE IS NO WAY WHATSOEVER THAT A NORMAL GIRL WOULD BE UNABLE TO TELL WHAT GENDER THE OTHER PERSON IS ON A DATE !!! ok do you follow me here. I don't care what clothes you wear what short guy haircut you have or how you disguise your 'girl voice' THERE IS NO WAY ANY NORMAL PERSON WOULD BE FOOLED , because of this OBVIOUS LOGIC, this movie failed miserably on all accounts again simply because the above premise is preposterous and wholly UNBELIEVABLE Todd Michael Wiseman Ohio Univ College of Film & Cinematography

it was really sad and it was kinda messed up too, but it was a great movie

This story first appeared in Vanity Fair about two years ago, and at that time I was both saddened and intrigued at the life of Brandon Teena. The movie was very well done, the acting was excellent, and it touched upon a very relevent subjuect: the hatred and persecution of gay women.

not since shindlers list have i felt so devastated by a film.truly one of the most effective movies to have ever been made.

Disturbing portrait of a sexually confused young woman in a redneck town. Performance was great, but I would not see it again.

It is hard to rate this movie. There are so many disturbing things about 'Boys Don't Cry' that it makes it hard to say it is Great! On the other hand, it is done so well, as disturbing as it is, I have no choice but to rate it a 5. The story about a girl who is really a boy inside (but born with girl parts) goes to a new town, as a boy and discovers love with a young girl. The acting is amazing. I forgot that she was a he. The movie was put together in all aspects. The director did a great job.

This movie kicks ass!!! You have to see it. However, remember that it is VERY intence.

This movie was excellent. Very shocking and eye opening. Living in a somewhat liberal city makes you blind and think that this sort of discrimination doesn't happen. The story was well told, and the movie was gripping.

A very painful movie to watch. I knew the outcome a quarter of the way into the movie, so I had to stop.

This movie was so different from anything I've seen. The actress who played the main character did an excellent job and was very convincing. I liked the artsy/revolutionary/controversial feel of this movie.

The movie follows the book fairly well. While depressing from the beginning until the very end, the movie shows a slice of life that is very real for some. I think the movie shows the pain experienced by todays youth whether it's related to sexual identity or acceptance and belonging in general.

I saw "Boys Don't Cry" on campus and I really liked the movie. The topic was fresh and the acting was very convincing. I thought that it did not try to sugarcoat what is obviously a very emotional topic, and this made "Boys Don't Cry," stick in my mind as a powerful movie.

Amazing acting job by Hillary Swank, but the overall movie is very disturbing. Those that are uncomfortable with homosexuality should not see this movie.

This movie is superb. Hillary Swank was incredible. She is a wonderful actress. The movie was poignant and heavy. The fact that it was real made the movie more intense. It's a downer, but worth watching it!

I've never seen a real-life movie that was this good. It presented a controversial topic in a way that can open people's minds. The acting was great. Hilary Swank deserved her award for the portrayal of Brandon.

Disturbing, but great acting. Give the movie a chance. It's an experience you won't forget.

This was a very moving movie about a girl who wanted to be a boy. It showed how badly she felt she was the wrong gender, and the reaction to it.

This movie should and will leave you sobbing. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster, from sublime to heartbreak. The tragedy is that the movie is true, and it's so sad when you realize people can be so cruel. (More conservative people might not enjoy this flick, but I suggest they see it anyway. It might open their eyes.)

Very well acted, very emotional, at times a little too sexually graphic but overall the best indi of 1999.

This movie was good. It captured a very difficult and heavy topic concerning sexuality. Although the actors' and actress' performances were excellent, the story was just too depressing. I would have rather seen a more uplifting and lighthearted movie.

This was a very powerful and interesting movie. I would recommend viewing it only on a small screen. The character Tina Brandon or better yet Brandon Tina was very disturbing to me. I remember hearing about this story of Tina Brandon, a woman, claiming to have an identity crisis. I think it was a good story to be told as a movie. There are very graphic rape scenes which upset me a lot, and I hope other people don't ever choose to live a life like she did. This was quite a sad, but must be told story.

A totally awesome movie that is the first to make me cry in a long time. The movie itself is very cathartic in that afterwards you feel exhausted emotionally.

The movie was very emotional. The audience gets captivated by the life of Brandon Teena and how she falls in love with another girl. She poses as a man to help change her identity and she changes her life. The movie is very powerful.

Hillary Swank did a remarkable job at portraying Brandon Teena. An Oscar well deserved!

This movie is well worth the price of admission. Hilary Swank gives a stellar and convincing portrayal of Brandon Tina. I highly recommend this movie to everyone. Keep in mind it is a bit disturbing.

I wish there was a six-star rating for this one. It is so important to see a) because the story is devastating and revealing and really happened, and b) because Hilary Swank is astonishing and deserves to rise up from her seat next Sunday and take home that Oscar. Unbelievable.

Boys don't cry is an awesome film , with great cast , especially Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena , she ia absolutley amazing , that's why she won the Golden Globe for best actress and probably the Oscar , I hope so . Go see it .

Hilary Swank's performance as Brandon Teena was phenomenal. There is an Oscar Award is this young woman's future!!