Boys Don't Cry

If you can get past the insufferable bunch of violent, ignorant, career criminal rednecks that Brandon Teena aspires to befriend in this reality-based account of a young Nebraska transvestite's heinous rape and murder, this otherwise dramatic, devastating drama may leave you speechless and emotionally drained. Hilary Swank's unfettered, unflinching Golden Globe winning performance as Brandon--a 20-year-old from Lincoln who discards the female coil that never suited her to embrace the gallant swagger of the charming, delicately chiseled cowboy within--is remarkable. The story is absorbing, the filmmaking powerful and the acting almost too good; but when you hate everyone on screen with the exception of the hero, it's a little hard to sit still for 116 minutes. A strong optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)