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Movies / On DVD / Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry

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Boys Don't Cry (1999)

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Reviews Counted:73

Fresh:65

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Hilary Swank's acclaimed performance pays fitting tribute to the tragic life of Brandon Teena.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: From the middle of America emerged an extraordinary double life, a complicated love story and a crime that would shatter the heartland. In Falls City, Nebraska, Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) was... From the middle of America emerged an extraordinary double life, a complicated love story and a crime that would shatter the heartland.

In Falls City, Nebraska, Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) was a newcomer with a future who had the small rural community enchanted. Women adored him and almost everyone who met this charismatic stranger was drawn to his charming innocence. But, Falls City's hottest date and truest friend had one secret: he wasn't the person people thought he was.

Back home in Lincoln just seventy-five miles away, Brandon Teena was a different person caught up in a personal crisis that had haunted him his entire life.

Like many young people, he made costly mistakes and when he inadvertently trespassed between his new love Lana (Chloe Sevigny) and her reckless friend John (Peter Sarsgaard), the mystery unraveled into violence.

In a single, short life Brandon Teena was at once a dashing lover and a trapped outsider, both an impoverished nobody and a flamboyant dreamer, a daring thief and the tragic victim of an unjust crime.

Boys Don't Cry explores the contradictions of American youth and identity through the true life and death of Brandon Teena. What emerges from a dust-cloud of mayhem, desire and murder is the story of a young American drifter searching for love, a sense of self and a place to call home. [More]

Starring: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton

Starring: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton, Alison Folland, Alicia Goranson, Matt McGrath, Lou Perryman, Rob Campbell, Jeannetta Arnette

Director: Kimberly Peirce

Director: Kimberly Peirce
Screenwriter: Kimberly Peirce, Andy Bienen
Producer: Christine Vachon, John Hart, Eva Kolodner, Jeff Sharp, Pamela Koffler
Composer: Nathan Larson

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Boys Don't Cry

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
04/17/01
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Sight and Sound

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

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

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
10/18/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review

Nail-tough yet poetic.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/31/08
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

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

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
10/21/07
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

The casting is nothing short of brilliant.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/03/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A suspenseful piece of work. Expect to be depressed.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
04/10/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
02/21/04
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Roanoke Times (Virginia) | comment Comment
05/28/03
Beth Jones
Beth Jones
Roanoke Times (Virginia)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

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.

Full Review Source: Movie Magazine International | comment Comment
05/11/03
Moira Sullivan
Moira Sullivan
Movie Magazine International

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Bittersweet gender-bender tale features great performances.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Boys Don't Cry

September 08, 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 soldier drama "Stop Loss," also starring Ryan Phillippe. Thesps... More...

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