A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 50 wins & 39 nominations total
Lisa Renee Wilson
- Pam
- (as Lisa Wilson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Hilary Swank was living as a man to prepare for the role of Brandon Teena, her neighbors believed that the young man coming and going from Swank's home (Swank in male character) was her visiting brother.
- GoofsWhen the girls (and Brandon) go on a trip to Kansas City, the Dallas skyline can be seen.
- Crazy creditsA special thanks to all of the transmen and butch dykes who helped, advised and auditioned for this project and supported the process of bringing this story to the screen.
- Alternate versionsThe USA version originally garnered an NC-17 from the MPAA. The film was cut and re-rated R. The European version reportedly is uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Double Jeopardy/Jakob the Liar/Mumford (1999)
- SoundtracksJust What I Needed
Written by Ric Ocasek
Performed by The Cars
Published by Lido Music, Inc.
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Featured review
A Moving Piece of Filmmaking.
Boys Don't Cry was a major success with the critics and the Academy Award's, so I looked forward to seeing it. Easily one of the best films of the past year, Boys Don't Cry is a moving experience that deserved all the credit it got, and then some.
The film takes for its source material the true story of Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank), a girl who, well, just wants to be a boy. A sex-changing (getting her hair cut and sticking a dildo down her pants) credit sequence sees our hero(ine) at first on the pull, duping a local girl into a bit of nookie, and then on the run, when the truth about her sexuality rears its bizarre head. A fugitive of the law, as well as a few irate townsfolk, a twist of fate leads to her befriending a bunch of trailer-trash misfits and, temporarily, enjoying a new-found freedom under her manly guise. Of course, it's all going to go horribly wrong - particularly when she falls in love with the local girlie sweetheart (Chloe Sevigny).
Chloe Sevigny, who plays the girl Brandon falls in love with, deserved to win an Academy Award. Her performance still lives in my memory, and it has been some time since I first saw Boys Don't Cry. Hilary Swank, who did receive an Oscar, pulls off an absolute barnstormer of a performance as Brandon Teena, it is easily one of the boldest and most memorable performances I saw in the 20th century. Kimberley Pierce is also another stand-out, she is in the director's chair, and she hardly got any praise for her amazing effort that she put into this film. I applaud everyone involved in Boys Don't Cry, even the one's who got little credit, particularly Brendan Sexton III (who plays a trouble-making misfit) and Andy Bienen (co-writer).
Groundbreaking performances and a brilliant debut directing effort make this film unmissable.
I rate Boys Don't Cry 9 out of 10.
The film takes for its source material the true story of Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank), a girl who, well, just wants to be a boy. A sex-changing (getting her hair cut and sticking a dildo down her pants) credit sequence sees our hero(ine) at first on the pull, duping a local girl into a bit of nookie, and then on the run, when the truth about her sexuality rears its bizarre head. A fugitive of the law, as well as a few irate townsfolk, a twist of fate leads to her befriending a bunch of trailer-trash misfits and, temporarily, enjoying a new-found freedom under her manly guise. Of course, it's all going to go horribly wrong - particularly when she falls in love with the local girlie sweetheart (Chloe Sevigny).
Chloe Sevigny, who plays the girl Brandon falls in love with, deserved to win an Academy Award. Her performance still lives in my memory, and it has been some time since I first saw Boys Don't Cry. Hilary Swank, who did receive an Oscar, pulls off an absolute barnstormer of a performance as Brandon Teena, it is easily one of the boldest and most memorable performances I saw in the 20th century. Kimberley Pierce is also another stand-out, she is in the director's chair, and she hardly got any praise for her amazing effort that she put into this film. I applaud everyone involved in Boys Don't Cry, even the one's who got little credit, particularly Brendan Sexton III (who plays a trouble-making misfit) and Andy Bienen (co-writer).
Groundbreaking performances and a brilliant debut directing effort make this film unmissable.
I rate Boys Don't Cry 9 out of 10.
helpful•11639
- flickjunkie-3
- Dec 2, 2000
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Take It Like a Man
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $11,540,607
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $73,720
- Oct 10, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $11,540,607
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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