Boys don't cry

Based on the life and death of Brandon Teena, “Boys Don’t Cry” is a gripping and very moving account of difference and intolerance. Believing herself to really be a male, Brandon constructs a masculine persona for herself and acts and lives as a man in a poverty stricken community in Nebraska. Within this “white trash” locale she attempts to live her identity as best she can. She falls in love with Lana (Chloe Sevigny), a tender romance which results in a group of local young men venting their homophobic violence on the lovers. One of a series of works in late twentieth century American cinema which attempted to deal with the the increasing fracturing and alienation of working class life caused by unemployment and the rationalising of both economics and ethics, “Boys Don’t Cry” resonates deeply as both a story of damaged lives as well being an inspiring challenge to conservative understandings of gender and sexuality. Hilary Swank’s performance as Brandon justifiably won her an Academy Award for Best Actress, and Sevigny’s performance is equally fine. A labour of love for director Pierce, “Boys Don’t Cry” is an exemplary work of Queer Cinema, as well as an outstanding example of the best of American independent film.