Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent drama film based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was raped and murdered on December 31, 1993 by male friends after they found out Teena had female genitalia. The film features Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena and Chloë Sevigny as Brandon's girlfriend, Lana Tisdel. Boys Don't Cry received overwhelmingly positive acclaim from critics, especially the two lead performances from Swank and Sevigny, and considering its reasonably low budget, and independent production, it was a box office success, with most of the success coming from word of mouth and critical views. Swank was awarded the 1999 Academy Awards for Best Actress, and Sevigny was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress. The film is set in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Falls City, Nebraska, but was mainly filmed in Greenville, Texas, a small town about 45 miles northeast of Dallas. Its release was concurrent with the murder of a young gay man, Matthew Shepard, which sparked additional public interest in the film. The film's title, Boys Don't Cry, coincides with a song of the same name by The Cure.

Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) is a female-to-male pre-operative transsexual, whose birth name was Teena Renae Brandon. After receiving physical threats for dating a person's sister, and involvement in a bar fight, Brandon is evicted by his cousin from the trailer they shared. Brandon moves to Falls City, Nebraska where he cultivates friendships with ex-convicts John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom Nissen (Brendan Sexton III), and their friends Candace (Alicia Goranson) and Lana (Chloë Sevigny). Brandon becomes romantically involved with Lana, who is unaware of his situation. Brandon is detained for charges that arose prior to his relocation and placed in the women's section of the Falls City prison. Lana bails Brandon out. After inquiring why Brandon was in a woman's prison, Brandon lies to Lana saying he was born a hermaphrodite and will soon receive a sex change. Lana declares her love for Brandon, "no matter what he is." Lotter, Nissen, and Candace discover Brandon has female genitalia and tell Lana after forcing him to remove his pants. Later, Nissen and Lotter chase Brandon, then beat and violently rape him in an isolated lot near a meat-processing plant. Afterward, they take Brandon to Nissen's house. Though injured, Brandon escapes through a bathroom window. Having been threatened by his assailants not to report the attack to the police, a distressed Brandon is nonetheless convinced by Lana to file a report. All the while, Lana and Brandon dream of a life together and plan to escape and go to Memphis. One evening, Nissen and Lotter get drunk, and despite Lana's warnings, decide to kill Brandon, who is hiding in a shed on Candace's property. Lotter and Nissen drive to Candace's remote house, accompanied by a frantic Lana; Lotter shoots Brandon under the chin while inside the house, and Nissen shoots Candace in the head while Lana fights and screams for them to stop. Nissen stabs Brandon's lifeless body and attempts to shoot Lana, but is stopped by John. Lotter and Nissen flee the scene, while Lana lies with Brandon's dead body. The next morning, Lana wakes up on Brandon's dead body, then falls into her mother's arms. The film ends with Lana leaving Falls City while a letter Brandon wrote her is read in a voice-over.