The movie that MADE Hilary Swank. Swank plays Teena Brandon, a gender-confused young woman taking on the persona and mannerisms of a man by the name of Brandon Teena. As Brandon, she meets and falls in love with Lana, played by Chloe Sevigny. Lana learns of Brandon's deception but accepts him anyway. Lana's brother and friends? Not so much. This is a powerful movie about a subject that's still not talked about much today (gender confusion) let alone in 1999 when this was released. Swank is pretty amazing here. This is a risky role for her, playing a woman who can appear to be a man with few physical changes - the kind of thing that could stigmatize a Hollywood actress. She carries it off really well, and carries this movie all the way to the heartbreaking conclusion. Anyway, terrific movie with strong performances from Swank and Sevigny and well worth watching. 8/10.
