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Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don't Cry

Crime · Drama · 1999

A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.

Movie details

Boys Don't Cry

“A true story about finding the courage to be yourself.”

1999 Crime · Drama 1h 58m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Boys Don't Cry?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Stoning of Soraya M.

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Bully

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A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.

Querelle

Querelle

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French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband: if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane; if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose.

Snowtown

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The Krays

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Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl

Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl

Drama · 1998

Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.

Straw Dogs

Straw Dogs

Thriller · 1971

David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate.

The Crying Game

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Crimes of Passion

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Luckiest Girl Alive

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A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Kimberly Peirce

Written by

Andy Bienen · Kimberly Peirce

Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank

Brandon Teena

Chloë Sevigny

Chloë Sevigny

Lana Tisdel

Peter Sarsgaard

Peter Sarsgaard

John Lotter

Brendan Sexton III

Brendan Sexton III

Tom Nissen

Alicia Goranson

Alicia Goranson

Candace

Alison Folland

Alison Folland

Kate

Jeannetta Arnette

Jeannetta Arnette

Lana's Mom

Court is in session

Put Boys Don't Cry on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.