Great Performances: Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena

When an actor takes on a challenging role, it is often said of them that they are "brave". Most of the time that is pure hyperbole, but in the case of Hilary Swank's Academy Award-winning performance of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry, truer words could not be spoken.

Swank embodies Teena, a young transgendered male, with a raw spontaneity that is transfixing. There is a charisma about her Brandon that makes the onscreen transformation completely convincing, both in the terms of the true story unfolding for the character and the seamless technique the actress is displaying. You can thoroughly understand how Teena was able to pass as a male, and when his transgendered status is revealed, and the horrific ramifications that followed occur, the ensuing tragedy is gut-wrenching in its verisimilitude.

This post is in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance (which will recognize its ninth anniversary tomorrow), a day set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. Click here to learn more.

This post is also a part of Queering the Apparatus' Queer Film Blog-A-Thon.

Click here to buy Boys Don't Cryon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Wikipedia.org, Imdb.com, Gender.org and QueeringTheApparatus.blogspot.com.