Boys don't cry but girls do

As you might have noticed, most movies featured here aren't exactly what you'd call recent releases. It's my aim to shed some light on a few personal favorites and some forgotten treasures in the hope that they'll find the audience they deserve. Next in line is Boy’s Don’t Cry, based on the true story of a remarkable double life, intricate love triangle and gruesome murder that shocked the US. Kimberley Peirce’s astonishing directorial debut also landed Hilery Swank her first Academy Award for her stunning portrayal of the tormented Brandon Teena. The film is a brutally honest and suspenseful piece of work, no light viewing but well worth the Prozac.

Brandon Teena moves to Falls City, Nebraska and manges to not only enchant the town but also the beautiful Lana Tisdale (Chloë Sevigny). His charming naiveté turns him into a real ladies man and man’s man but he has a secret. Born Teena Brandon, he has been going through a lifelong identity crisis which he has finally come to terms with but alas not everyone is as understanding as his girlLana, who received this shocking blow while Brandon is in prison for forging checks. She loves him, “no matter what he is”. Eventually his secret is revealed to the disgust of his friends who set out to rape and ultimately murder him.

This emotional tour de force will leave you truly speechless, I guarantee. The acting was superb and the subject was handled with such delicacy and genuine apprehension that it literally dragged you with it on an unforgettable journey into the core of our being. It could have easily become your average “based on a true story tearjerker” but Peirce’s restrained direction avoided sentiment and focused purely on the story and psychology of it’s confused characters. Even while filming the unforgettable and touching love scene between Brandon and Lana realism prevails as true feelings arise.

Boy’s Don’t Cry is a gripping, haunting and beautiful film that will not even leave the weariest of hearts unharmed.