Boys Don't Cry

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When Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) moves to a small Nebraska town in search of a new life, she takes the name Brandon Teena, passes herself off as a boy, begins dating a beautiful girl (Chloe Sevigny) and makes friends among the town's redneck men ... until the truth is revealed. Swank's Oscar-winning portrayal of this real-life character illuminates one woman's voyage of self-discovery -- and the tragic events that cut it short.
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Netflix Rating: 3.6
NYT Critics' Pick: Young woman decides to live as man. Swank won best actress Oscar. Stunning. Read the review
Top Rotten Tomatoes Critics: Stunning. full review

Janet Maslin, New York Times

A haunting, superbly made film.

Jonathan Foreman, New York Post

Lyrical and galvanizing. full review

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Swank is impressive in the lead role.

Ernest Hardy, Film.com

The movie lets down the material. It's too cool: all attitude, no sizzle--horror under glass.

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

Driven by performances of such luminous humanity that they break your heart. full review

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

With its constant juxtaposition of blazing nighttime highwayscapes and the flat Nebraska skyline, Boys Don't Cry manages to perfectly evoke both a life spent in aimless forward motion and the stifling boredom Brandon was so desperate to escape.

Gemma Files, Film.com

One of the best films of the year! full review

Roger Ebert, At the Movies

The film is framed, too unquestioningly, as a transgender Rebel Without a Cause, with Brandon the martyred innocent who dies for her infatuations. full review

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

Peirce seems to have researched her subject with grad-school-thesis intensity.

Mike Clark, USA Today

A stirring, emotionally true testament to foolish bravery as well as shameful evidence of the severity with which it is so often punished. full review

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

full review by Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

full review by Susan Stark, Detroit News

full review by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

full review by Globe and Mail, Globe and Mail

full review by Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

full review by James Berardinelli, ReelViews

full review by Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

full review by Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

full review by Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee