Opening

74% World War Z Jun 21
78% Monsters University Jun 21
61% The Bling Ring Jun 21
58% Maniac Jun 21
100% A Hijacking Jun 21
68% Unfinished Song Jun 21
100% The Attack Jun 21
—— The Haunting of Helena Jun 21

Top Box Office

56% Man of Steel $116.6M
85% This Is the End $20.7M
50% Now You See Me $11.0M
71% Fast & Furious 6 $9.6M
38% The Purge $8.3M
34% The Internship $7.1M
62% Epic $6.3M
87% Star Trek Into Darkness $6.3M
11% After Earth $4.1M
78% Iron Man 3 $3.0M

Coming Soon

—— How To Make Money Selling Drugs Jun 26
—— White House Down Jun 28
—— The Heat Jun 28
56% I'm So Excited! Jun 28

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

tomatometer

88

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.

86

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.

audience

84

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 68,102

My Rating

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

R,

Drama

Kimberly Peirce, Andy Bienen

Apr 18, 2000

Twentieth Century Fox - Official Site External Icon

Watch It Now

Cast

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (5)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A stirring, emotionally true testament to foolish bravery as well as shameful evidence of the severity with which it is so often punished.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Boys Don't Cry not only revisits the crime, but convinces us we're being taken inside it.

January 1, 2000
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[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.

May 28, 2012 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

Time has made Kimberly Peirce's dramatic debut about sexual misfit, stunningly played by Hilary Swank, even more relevant and powerful.

July 9, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

...undoubtedly benefits from Swank's searing, justifiably lauded performance.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
Reel Film Reviews

Nail-tough yet poetic.

January 31, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

The shock is not in the tragic ending, but the devastating emotional effect Kimberly Peirce is able to achieve through mere nuance.

October 21, 2007 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

The casting is nothing short of brilliant.

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International
Film Journal International

A suspenseful piece of work. Expect to be depressed.

April 10, 2005
Cinema Signals

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.

May 11, 2003 Full Review Source: Movie Magazine International
Movie Magazine International

Bittersweet gender-bender tale features great performances.

November 7, 2002 Full Review Source: Netflix
Netflix

...stark and sharply observed, with an underlying tension that does justice to its brutal sadness.

July 31, 2002 Full Review
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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.

June 21, 2002 Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
Kalamazoo Gazette

A devastating critique of the hatred, intolerance and bravado that lead to violence in America.

March 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice
Spirituality and Practice

...a gut-wrenching performance. I can't imagine an actor throwing herself into a role any more completely than this.

April 7, 2001
Movie Metropolis

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

March 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Moviola

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.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine
Matinee Magazine

Rather than being moved, you just feel sick.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Internet Reviews
Internet Reviews

Fine acting and a sincere, realistic approach to the its morbid subject matter, but somehow the pieces do not coalesce into an engaging film.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Compuserve
Compuserve

Kimberly Peirce proves herself an astonishingly gifted filmmaker.

January 1, 2000
Los Angeles Daily News

Audience Reviews for Boys Don't Cry

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!

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.
July 3, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

Absolutely heart wrenching! Hilary Swank deserved her Oscar and the fact that this was a true story is even more heart breaking. People in this world are so cruel and this film just shows you how much. 10/10
June 24, 2011
murphmann93
Bethany Murphy

Super Reviewer

    1. Lana: Look how beautiful is out there. It's us. We can just be ourselves out there.
    – Submitted by Stan B (10 months ago)
    1. Brandon Teena: Lana, you are one cranky girl
    – Submitted by Ivana N (2 years ago)

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads for Boys Don't Cry yet.

What's Hot On RT

24 Frames
24 Frames

Pictures from a zombie nation

Blue Jasmine
Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen in San Francisco

<em>The Hobbit</em>
The Hobbit

See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!

Summer Scorecard
Summer Scorecard

Where does This Is the End rank?

Latest News on Boys Don't Cry

September 8, 2006:
Olyphant and the "Third Rock" Kid Join Phillippe In "Stop Loss"
Director Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry") has a few more guys on her roster for the...

Foreign Titles

  • Boys Don't Cry (DE)
  • Boys Don't Cry (UK)
Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile