Boys don't cry

It seems even small mistakes might jeopardize everything 🙂

Hillary Clinton was honestly incredible in that role. I just can't get into the movie itself, though.

An excellent yet deeply moving movie. Hilary Swank delivers an incredible performance.

Walter Myers4 said:I find it really interesting how this guy, after he finally kills her, keeps shooting at her several times and even stabs her with a knife.
It’s almost like her being a lesbian threatened his masculinity so much.
Really fascinating stuff.

From what I've read, one guy stabbed her while the other shot her (though in reality, three people were involved). Since their testimonies don't actually line up, we're pretty much just left guessing.
Personally, I don't think it was about bruised egos or masculinity—it felt more like they just saw Teena as a monster. But then again...😕

Did he see it today?
No, I missed today's showing; I already saw it twice before now.
First off, the movie is an absolute slog. But I have to hand it to Hilary Swank—it’s rare to see a woman carry such convincing masculine energy. Impressive work. 🙏
And Peter Sarsgaard... wow. 😍 😍 😍

Man, I am seriously glad there’s a dedicated thread for this movie. If there wasn't, I definitely would have started one myself today...
It’s a fantastic movie... brutal and heavy, sure, but fantastic. The way those two characters act is absolutely disgusting, cruel, just... ugh! Like people say, the worst part is knowing this was all based on a true story.
Just one quick correction on a detail—Brandon/Teena isn't actually a lesbian, but rather transgender; in this specific case, a man living in a female body (remembering the preparation for gender reassignment surgery). This means that, despite having a female body, he identifies as a man, specifically a straight man who is very much into women...

creative said:actually, from what I've read, one guy went at her with a knife, and the other started shooting—it was actually three people. but since their testimonies don't line up, we're basically just guessing at this point.
I don't think it was even about their egos being bruised. It was more that they saw Teena as some kind of monster. But still...😕

I wouldn't say that.
Then why did they rape her?
They just wanted to humiliate her in every way possible and then wipe out any trace of their crime and her very existence, because just by being alive, she was a threat to them.
That's how they saw it.
Why did they kill her in the first place?
You don't kill monsters. You kill the thing that threatens you.

Walter Myers4 said:I wouldn't put it that way.
Why did they rape her then?
They simply wanted to humiliate her in every possible way and ultimately erase any trace of their crime and her very existence, because her mere presence threatened theirs.
That’s how they perceived it.
Why kill her at all?
Monsters don't kill themselves. You kill the thing that threatens you.

I agree with this. I think the guy just couldn't stomach being rejected by a girl—and it was even worse when he realized he was being dumped *because* of a girl (let's set aside for a second the fact that we're actually talking about a man in a female body—to them, she was just a girl). For guys, that kind of stuff hits the ego like a freight train. I viewed that rape as a "Let me put you back in your place!" type of move.
Interestingly enough, the main antagonist—Lanny's ex (was it Tom or John?...)—showed some pretty subtle homoerotic vibes on a few occasions. For instance, when Brandon was driving and the guy told him to speed up because the cops were following them, he leaned over Brandon in a way that was, frankly, quite suggestive, even reaching toward Brandon's, shall we say, groin area.
Here's my takeaway: since the person who eventually kills them (was it John or Tom?) was such an aggressive homophobe, was flirting with Brandon while drunk, and ultimately raped Brandon/Teena, I’d argue the guy might be a latent homosexual. He likely couldn't face that truth himself, so he assaulted Brandon/Teena as a way to prove to himself that Brandon's attraction wasn't because he was male, but because he was female.
Ugh, I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I hope you see where I'm going with this...
Besides, research shows that extreme homophobia—especially the kind where people are capable of killing out of pure repulsion—is most often just a way to rationalize and deny latent homosexuality.

Walter Myers4 said:I wouldn't put it that way.
Why else would they assault her?
Their whole goal was just to humiliate her in every possible way before erasing any trace of what they did—and her entirely—because her very existence felt like a threat to theirs.
That’s how they perceived it.
So why kill her at all?
Monsters don't die; you take out whoever poses a threat to you.

If you actually clicked the link I posted, you'd see the real reason she was killed was to keep her from testifying against them, not because of her sexuality (which, by the way, someone rightly pointed out wasn't even the case). This movie is a creative interpretation of actual events, so it's totally normal for some details to be tweaked. So, are we here to analyze the movie and its plot, or are we debating the actual true crime case?

Tyler Watson3 said:..
Here’s my take on this: since the guy who ended up killing them (was it John or Tom?) was such an aggressive homophobe—getting all drunk and creepy with Brandon before finally raping Brandon/Teena—I’d say he might actually be a closeted homosexual. It feels like he was struggling with his own identity and lashed out through that assault just to prove to himself that his attraction to Brandon wasn't about gender, but rather convinced himself he was reacting to a woman.
Ugh, I totally rambled there, but I hope you guys catch my drift...
Besides, plenty of studies suggest that extreme homophobia—especially when it reaches the level of being willing to kill—is often just a way for people to rationalize and deny their own latent homosexuality.

In those kinds of small-town, old-fashioned areas, most people are pretty homophobic. And honestly, it goes even deeper than that. 😁

creative said:In those kinds of backwater towns, most people are homophobic. And honestly, it goes deeper than that. 😁

Spot on. Sadly true...

It’s a good question, but we have to decide if we’re dissecting the movie or the actual crime. Personally, I was looking at the movie, but if we’re talking about what actually happened (I read the article in the link), it’s pretty clear this was premeditated murder. They killed her specifically to silence her—to make sure she couldn't testify about the assault and beating. On top of that, they had it all planned out; they were already hunting her down the day before. It really shouldn't come as a surprise that one person got the death penalty while the other got life without parole... 🧐

The movie is excellent, though perhaps a bit heavy. I suspect it will take me a long, long time before I am ready to watch it again. Hilary Swank 👍

This movie absolutely wrecked me. 😢 It left me sobbing uncontrollably, which I honestly hate because I just feel so pathetic after a breakdown like that. The ending was just devastating. Seeing Hilary play that character—who acts more like a perfect gentleman than any guy I’ve ever met—was something else. She was just the ideal partner: kind, romantic, and incredibly gentle (even though she’s a girl). To see her perish, and then have Chloe accept her and love her exactly as she was, despite all the flaws... it really felt like love should have conquered everything. But instead, those primitive thugs stepped in and tore them apart. It was awful. Honestly, the fact that they were both women didn't even matter to me; if anything, their bond felt even more beautiful because it was such pure, unconditional love. It didn't matter who she was to Chloe, yet even that wasn't enough to save them from those freaks. There’s also something deeply tragic about how much effort she put into presenting as masculine (I missed the beginning, so I'm not entirely sure why), only to fall so deeply for "Lanny" and treat her with such quiet, tender devotion before being killed off. It hit me so hard that I ended up crying like a baby. 😁

Hands down, the best leading lady performance I’ve ever seen!!! I have never witnessed acting quite that convincing—truly, kudos to Hilary - Oscar and then some!!! How does she even do it? Such incredible talent.🙏

The movie is fantastic; I actually sat down and watched it again just yesterday!🙂

One of the greatest films ever made🙏🙏