Boys Don't Cry (1999)

"Boys Don't Cry" is the searing 1999 drama based on the real life of Brandon Teena, exploring gender identity and violence in small-town America. Hilary Swank delivers the lead performance that won her an Academy Award. The film treats intimacy with unusual rawness for its era. Chloe Sevigny co-stars, and her scenes carry a vulnerability that critics singled out at the time. Their work together includes nude and sex scenes that feel stripped of any glamour. Five scenes from the film are archived here for viewers to revisit. Each one leans into the discomfort the story was built on rather than away from it.