The tragedy of intolerance
Boys Don't Cry
Directed by Kimberley Pierce
Written by Kimberley Pierce and Andy Bienen
Featuring Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny
Screening at Palace/Nova Cinemas
REVIEW BY ERICA HAINES
Boys Don't Cry is the tragic real-life story of Brandon Teena, a young man with a secret that led to his death. In 1993, in Falls City, Nebraska, he was brutally raped and murdered at the age of 21, simply for daring to be true to himself.
In his home-town of Lincoln, around 110 kilometres away, Brandon was known as Teena Brandon, a young woman often in trouble with the police.
Teena believed she was meant to be a man and reinvented her identity. She cut her hair short, bound her breasts, stuffed socks in her jeans, wore a flannel shirt and cowboy boots and walked with a swagger.
Hilary Swank's performance as Brandon is so convincing that it could be easy to forget that this is more than just another movie about a bunch of young adults in a small US town who party hard and face a seemingly a bleak future.
Brandon begins a new life in Falls City, a small rural "red-neck" town, and quickly makes new friends, falls in love with Lana (Chloe Sevigny) and becomes popular. Throughout the film, Brandon has to deal with the harsh realities of living as a man in a woman's body.
Brandon appears to have found the freedom he is searching for, but when his "real identity" is revealed it all falls apart.
The film deals with many issues that are born from living in a society in which conforming to an ideal of normality is mandatory: the gender debate, biology versus society, what constitutes being a man? (Brandon could not afford a sex change but that did not make him feel less of a man), and the hatred, intolerance and homophobic nature of society.
There is no doubt that the murder of Brandon Teena was a hate crime. Brandon was a courageous young man who, by being true to himself, was perceived as living a lie to those that knew him. The film is confronting and disturbing and generates a range of emotions.
The violent and horrific rape scene is shockingly realistic and the brutal ending left me feeling drained and sad that we live in a world full of fear and ignorance.
Boys Don't Cry is the type of film that asks many questions about life and one that everyone should see. It provides an insight into life's complexities and is a reminder that tolerance and understanding are universal issues.