IMDb > Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Boys Don't Cry
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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   31,832 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 29% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Kimberly Peirce
Writers:
Kimberly Peirce (written by) &
Andy Bienen (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Boys Don't Cry on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
29 October 1999 (Canada) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
A true story about finding the courage to be yourself.
Plot:
The story of the life of Brandon Teena, a transgendered teen who preferred life in a male identity until it was discovered he was born biologically female. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 42 wins & 27 nominations more
User Comments:
powerful, disturbing human drama more (402 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Take It Like a Man (USA) (working title)
A fiúk nem sírnak (Hungary) [hu]
Boys Don't Cry (Greece) [el]
Boys Don't Cry (France) [fr]
Boys Don't Cry (Spain) [es]
Boys Don't Cry (Denmark) [da]
Decki ne placu (Croatia) [hr]
Erkekler aglamaz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Garotos Não Choram (Brazil) [pt]
Kluci neplácou (Czech Republic) [cs]
Les garçons ne pleurent pas (Canada: French title) [fr]
Los chicos no lloran (Spain) [es]
Los muchachos no lloran (Argentina) [es]
Meninos Não Choram (Brazil) [pt]
Nie czas na lzy (Poland) [pl]
Os rapazes Não Choram (Portugal) [pt]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence including an intense brutal rape scene, sexuality, language and drug use.
Runtime:
118 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:R (Approved No. 36926) (edited for re-rating) | Philippines:R-18 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 (director's cut) | France:-16 | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Brazil:18 | Iceland:16
Filming Locations:
Austin, Texas, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The title of the film is taken from a song by The Cure. A cover of the song also plays in the background at one point. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: While the movie was set in 1993, some of the characters were seen drinking Celis Pale Rider Ale, which was not introduced until 1997. more
Quotes:
Lana: Shut up, that's your business. I don't care if you are half monkey or half ape, I'm gettin' you out of here! more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "Family Guy: Boys Do Cry (#5.15)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Burning House Of Love more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
68 out of 90 people found the following comment useful.
powerful, disturbing human drama, 13 May 2000
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

The most impressive aspect of `Boys Don't Cry' is that it refuses to shy away from the sordid details of much of its protagonist's life, yet manages to convert her (or him if you prefer) into a sympathetic and comprehensible figure. In our most honest moments, we can all acknowledge aspects of our own lives and personalities that we don't understand, that we would love to change and that often make us feel alienated from the `norm' of society at large. In the case of Teena Brandon – a young man `trapped' in a woman's body - the anomaly happens to be a more pronounced and certainly less socially acceptable one than most of us are forced to endure in our lives. And she paid the ultimate price society demands from those it fears and does not understand: she was murdered in Nebraska in 1993, simply for being `different.'

The film builds a convincing case for compassionate understanding without converting Brandon into a saint-like figure. Not only do we witness the petty criminality of her life, but we see her propensity for duplicity and deception, a personality trait that actually leads in part to many of the troubles she encounters, playing a crucial role to a large extent even in her death itself. Yet, given society's out-of-hand rejection of transgendered people, what real options but a life of dishonesty is Brandon really given? Similarly, Lana, the young woman with whom Brandon falls in love and the one person who has ever accepted Brandon unconditionally for what she is, suffers from a number of her own demons.

Credit writer/director Kimberly Pierce and co-writer Andy Bienen for not taking the easy commercial path of reducing the moral complexities of the personalities involved to a black-and-white world where good and evil are displayed in neatly arranged patterns for our easy consumption. There are many times in this film when literally none of the people we are involved with are the slightest bit appealing. The filmmakers, in their faith in our maturity, ask us to go along on a pretty harrowing journey at times, but it is one that leads us to a very rewarding destination. The scenes in which Brandon's companions expose her secret is riveting and terrifying in its dramatic intensity and human sadness. The utter humiliation Brandon is forced to endure at the hands of the hooligans who are tormenting her broadens to become a symbolic representation of every person who has suffered such an injustice at the hands of unreasoning ignorance for whatever reason. It is a chilling reminder of the danger of the mob mentality unrestrained by empathy and enlightenment.

Like so many of the best off-Hollywood independent productions, `Boys Don't Cry' finds its truth in two crucial elements: the canny depiction of the bleak sterility and stifling provincialism of its Midwest setting and the uniformly first-rate performances by a largely unknown set of actors.

Hilary Swank, in her Oscar-winning turn as Brandon, and Chloe Sevigny as Lana achieve a naturalism in their portrayals that neutralizes any theatricality that might have robbed the film of its indispensable quality of immediacy and believability. They convert what might, in less capable hands, have become little more than a sensationalized freak show into a powerful and understandable drama about real, thoroughly recognizable human beings. For that alone, `Boys Don't Cry' becomes a cinematic experience impossible to forget

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What exactly WAS Brandon Teena?? blantonbrenda
Did John love Lana? swlitzy
Respect for Hilary. Kimzy
I really didn't like Lana's mom!! loopylauseng
Boys Don't Cry: The Lesson kingsleyshacklebolt
What was the background song in the bar? robferre3-1
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