Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 76
Fresh: 67 | Rotten: 9
Hilary Swank's acclaimed performance pays fitting tribute to the tragic life of Brandon Teena.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 3
Hilary Swank's acclaimed performance pays fitting tribute to the tragic life of Brandon Teena.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 68,102
Movie Info
Based on a true story, this drama was adapted from the life of Brandon Teena, born Teena Brandon, a woman who chose to live her life as a man and suffered tragic consequences as a result. In 1993, 20-year-old Brandon (Hilary Swank) leaves Lincoln, Nebraska for the nearby community of Falls City, where she sports a crew cut, favors jeans and boots, and is regarded as a man by most of the people in town. While Brandon's friend Lonny (Matt McGrath) warns her that sexual outsiders aren't looked upon
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Cast
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Hilary Swank
Brandon Teena -
Chloë Sevigny
Lana -
Peter Sarsgaard
John -
Brendan Sexton III
Marvin Thomas 'Tom' Nis... -
Alison Folland
Kate -
Alicia Goranson
Candace -
Matt McGrath
Lonny -
Rob Campbell
Brian -
Jeanetta Arnette
Lana's Mom -
Lou Perryman
Sheriff
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All Critics (103) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (9) | DVD (17)
The film is framed, too unquestioningly, as a transgender Rebel Without a Cause, with Brandon the martyred innocent who dies for her infatuations.
Top CriticA stirring, emotionally true testament to foolish bravery as well as shameful evidence of the severity with which it is so often punished.
Boys Don't Cry not only revisits the crime, but convinces us we're being taken inside it.
[VIDEO ESSAY] Kimberly Pierce's remarkable 1999 filmic version of Brandon Teena's last days is a scalding indictment of the kind of consciously ignorant intolerance that runs disgracefully through America's Heartland and Southern states.
Time has made Kimberly Peirce's dramatic debut about sexual misfit, stunningly played by Hilary Swank, even more relevant and powerful.
...undoubtedly benefits from Swank's searing, justifiably lauded performance.
Nail-tough yet poetic.
The shock is not in the tragic ending, but the devastating emotional effect Kimberly Peirce is able to achieve through mere nuance.
The casting is nothing short of brilliant.
A suspenseful piece of work. Expect to be depressed.
Four years ago, said director Kimberly Peirce, she could not have made this film and thought it was spectacular to see the Oscars flash the subject of the story across America and around the world.
Bittersweet gender-bender tale features great performances.
...stark and sharply observed, with an underlying tension that does justice to its brutal sadness.
In other, less capable hands, "Boys" could easily have become either a sleazy piece of exploitation or a sanctimonious look at how awful the Bible Belt can be towards people who don't follow the straight and narrow path.
A devastating critique of the hatred, intolerance and bravado that lead to violence in America.
...a gut-wrenching performance. I can't imagine an actor throwing herself into a role any more completely than this.
Es una película difícil y por momentos amarga, pero retrata una parte de la vida y la sociedad que es muy compleja de entender y de aceptar
It's the kind of movie that manages to shake viewers at the very foundations of their expectations for what kind of power film holds.
Rather than being moved, you just feel sick.
Fine acting and a sincere, realistic approach to the its morbid subject matter, but somehow the pieces do not coalesce into an engaging film.
Kimberly Peirce proves herself an astonishingly gifted filmmaker.
Audience Reviews for Boys Don't Cry
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Lana: Look how beautiful is out there. It's us. We can just be ourselves out there.
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- Brandon Teena: Lana, you are one cranky girl
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Movie: ID: 13339 Title: Boys Don't Cry Release Date: 1999-10-08 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Boys Don't Cry (DE)
- Boys Don't Cry (UK)
Boys Don't Cry, hmmm, where to start. It's an emotional, powerful, and quite disturbing biopic that doesn't hold anything back. Kimberly Peirce did an amazing job with this movie. I saw a documentary where she talked about having to cut a lot of stuff out because of the MPAA. This was originally NC-17 until she made the changes they wanted. The movie itself is simply amazing. Everyone that's heard of the movie knows about Hilary Swanks performance. She was absolutely superb and really deserved the Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena(Teena Brandon). Peter Sarsgaard also gave a great performance as John. The film is an emotional rollercoaster and an absolute masterpiece.