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When Brandon Teena, a young man with an infectious, aw-shucks grin and
an
angelic face that's all angles, wanders into Falls City, Nebraska, he takes
to the town like it's a second skin. In little time he's fallen in with a
gang of goofy if temperamental redneck boys, found himself a girlfriend, and
befriended enough people to form something of a small family. In
fact, it's the best time Brandon's ever had. However, there are shadows
looming over Brandon's life: a court date for grand theft auto, a checkered
criminal record, and a seemingly innocuous speeding ticket that could prove
to be his undoing. Why? Because as it turns out, Brandon Teena is actually
Teena Brandon, a woman masquerading as a man.
This fascinating story was based on real-life events (as
documented in The Brandon Teena Story) that occurred in 1993 and ended in
tragedy: Brandon's rape and murder by two of his supposed friends. Despite this
horrible outcome, however, in the hands of director
Kimberly Peirce (who cowrote the unfettered screenplay with Andy Bienen),
Brandon's story becomes not oppressive or preachy, but rather oddly and
touchingly transcendent, anchored by Hilary Swank's phenomenal,
unsentimental performance. Swank inhabits Brandon's contradictions and
passions with a natural vitality most actresses would refuse to give
themselves over to. Brandon's deception is doomed from the start, but
Swank's enthusiasm is infectious, and when Brandon starts romancing the
sloe-eyed Lana (a pitch-perfect Chloë Sevigny), he finds a soul mate who
wants to transcend boundaries and fated identities as much as he does. The
last part of the film, when Brandon's true identity is discovered, is truly
painful to watch, but in between the agony there are touching moments of
sweetness between Brandon and Lana, who wrestles with the truth of who
Brandon actually is. You'll come away from Boys Don't Cry with affection
and respect for Brandon, not pity. --Mark Englehart
