32 Out in the Mountains |April 2000 Reviewicontinued from /aagie3 7 This texture is perfectly captured in Hilary Swank’s Oscar-winning performance. As Brandon, she strides onto the scene with the full force of fact, not fabrica- tion. Though we as viewers may pause momentarily to judge Swank’s transformational achievement, the effect succeeds mostly because it isn’t yet fully realized. As Brandon, she brings both swagger and swish to the role, arousing the suspicions of those around him while channing away their fears. Swank demonstrates that rare capacity to project simultaneously a character’s interior thoughts and exterior posturing. Dogged by a criminal past, Brandon leaves his Nebraska hometown and takes up with a new group of friends in Falls City. An outsider from the start, his ini- tiation is hard-earned and constantly in question. Eventually, Brandon role-plays his way into the heart of Lana, one of the local girls who, like him, dreams of leaving her chaotic home life behind. The lighting in the film makes Lana look both jaded and jaundiced at times, a visual complement to Chloe Sevigny’s already dead-on interpretation. From there the story blossoms and wilts simultane-_ ously. Brandon’s newfound zest for life contrasts sharply with our own sense of his impending doom. Brandon either misses or ignores all warning signs along his way. A tension grows between his own process of becoming and the unraveling lives of those around him. Our own sympathies amplify all that’s at stake in the film and heighten the sense of revulsion we experience at the film’s violent conclusion. Though filmed in Texas, “Boys Don’t Cry” evokes the gritty reality of lower-class Nebraska. In Falls City, when you run into trouble, you try to hide in the dust cloud kicked up behind you. The faster you travel, the bigger the cloud. The trick is to keep moving. For Brandon, travel symbolizes both escape and return, the two-lane highway that runs not only from east to west, but from male to female as well. Throughout the movie, sped-up shots of car lights at night disorient the viewer. Like Brandon, we’re led to feel as though we’re being taken on some kind of joyride. Despite the thrill, there’s the accompanying worry that we’re not completely in control, a fact made clear when Brandon unwittingly agitates hot-tempered John Lotter on just such a ride. Moments like these keep audience members clutch- ing at their arrnrests throughout the film. As Brandon’s world begins to crumble around him, we are powerless to help. When he walks into a room in which his secret has just been revealed, his affable smile makes him seem all the more tragic. We can either watch in horror as the scene unfolds, or turn away completely. Neither option offers us comfort or resolution, nor should it. Brandon’s rape and subsequent murder remain reprehensible acts of violence. Any other depic- tion in the film of those final days would have felt like betrayal. Brandon did not sacrifice his life to become some kind of icon; it was stolen from him, plain and simple. “I knew I couldn’t rectify his death,” Peirce said, “but I thought I could bring about some under- standing...I had to make sense of it. I felt I had to bring Brandon to life.” _ To do this, Peirce purposefully reached beyond the facts of the story and looked for scenes and images which would resonate with the film’s audience, herself ? included. “I realized I had to look for where Brandon’s myth intersected with the truth of my own life and experience, and from that distill the underlying emo- tional truth of this story. In this way, I had the opportu- nity to tell something truer than what really happened and to distill a whole life into two entertaining hours. It was ’a process of turning truth into fiction, then back into a deeper truth.” Even with such grand aspirations, “Boys Don’t Cry” succeeds with the highest marks. Because of its emo- tional impact, the video may not be a frequent choice for repeated viewing, nor is it necessarily suitable for young people or those grappling with their own issues of identity and orientation. Even so, this remarkable film deserves a place of honor in any queer video col- lection. It’s a powerful movie worthy of being shared with friends and family members for years to come. V NRXR)‘ ?:Yv(§\NK " ‘’ ‘U251’? Hilary Swank won several awards for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, including the Oscar ' for Best Actress. Planetout Equality Rocks Sweepstakes today loi a rhance to .3 p for two (roundtiip airfare, hntrtl .i«tri:iim.l.it nnu mill ‘ ll