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Hilary Swank is a good bet to take home the Best Actress statue (or at least a rain check: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, your Oscar is currently unavailable. At a future date you may redeem this coupon at a local Target location for your Oscar, pending our claim with Roadway Express, or if you prefer, exchange it for a plate of hot wings at Hooters.") for her role as a sexually confused murder victim in the reality-based drama Boys Don't Cry. Now that I've seen this carefully-assembled video documentary, which won a few awards on the festival circuit the year before Kimberly Peirce's finished film hit theaters, Swank's performance (as well as that of Chloe Sevigny, who's more of a longshot for Supporting Actress) is all the more compelling.
Filmmakers Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir do an excellent job of getting smalltown Nebraska residents, including the convicted killers, to speak candidly about the tragic, and what must be terribly embarrassing, case of the 21-year-old woman who masterfully passed herself off as a man, even to women with whom she had intimate sexual and emotional relationships. Fleeing a trail of shocked, broken hearts, and the forged checks that financed her romantic attentions, Teena left state capital Lincoln for even smaller, more provincial Falls City. Over two short months, in a hard-luck, close-minded little town where the chief diversions are drinking, karaoke, demolition derby, and baiting redneck cops (whose tacit complicity contributed to the crime), Teena, to whom Swank bears a striking resemblance, fell into circumstances that would lead to her New Year's Eve death in 1993.
The subject matter is a natural for "Springer," but more capable hands make both films far less lurid than you might expect. Unfortunately neither one gives any insight to Teena's behavior or the failure of her family and friends to intervene in her self-destructive behavior. B
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