Boys Don’t Cry

What Peirce achieves in her film début Boys Don’t Cry with her realistic and poetic approach displays great class. Her vision on the (true) story of Brandon Teena is moving, angers and leaves the viewer stunned. Boys Don’t Cry is based on a newspaper article from 1993. In Nebraska the body was found of a girl who had for years pretended to be a boy. When her new friends – from the white trash environment where she had sought shelter – unmasked her, she was raped and killed. The film concentrates on the power of attraction of the protagonist, whose yearning for love and friendship made her vulnerable and reckless. The frequently made comparison with In Cold Blood is undoubtedly intended as a compliment, but this film-maker has too much original talent to be written off as the follower of some trend.