Boys Don't Cry
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
- crime
- drama
The story
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
What it’s like
Muted Midwestern winter light, flat grey skies, and long unhurried shots of pickup trucks idling on gravel roads and cramped rooms lit by fluorescent tube light and the blue glow of a television. The palette is washed and earthy, with dusty browns, faded denim and bruised pastels, and the camera stays close and handheld on its characters, so their small glances and silences carry weight. Music is sparse and melancholic, with lingering guitar and synth drones that swell at tense moments and drop away into near silence. The mood is quiet dread braided with tender, awkward romance: an uneasy, cold-edged ache that suits a late-night viewing alone or a serious weekend watch rather than casual background. The pacing is deliberate, with long stretches of ordinary small-town life punctured by sudden, startling violence. That violence is the film's main hazard: it includes a graphic, prolonged sexual assault and a brutal murder, both shown with unflinching realism, plus strong language and slurs. It is not gentle. It is built for viewers who want a serious, humane character study of identity, belonging and love under threat, and who can sit with harrowing material.
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