In small town Nebraska Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) crops her hair, binds her breasts, gets into boys` clothes and heads to the aptly named Fall City where he, now Brandon Teena, proceeds to establish himself as one of the boys and endear himself to the girls. With one girl in particular it`s true love - she`s Lana (Chloe Sevigny), a girl from a fractured family who lives with her mother and her mother`s boyfriend and friends...
This first film from director Kimberley Peirce is riveting from the start, it smells of danger. Peirce has directed for truth rather than sensationalism, presenting what happened rather than why it happened, but you can`t help thinking the barrenness of America`s heartland is a factor and biology has a place too. All the performances are impressive and true, but it`s no accident that Hilary Swank picked up a Golden Globe for her role - she`s extraordinarily good as is Sevigny. Be warned though, some of the climactic scenes are very confronting...
