Hilary Swank is most convincing when determination leaves room for eagerness, uncertainty and pleasure. We value the physical commitment, but it is the hope she allows Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry that makes her worth watching.
Fi1m perspective
In Boys Don't Cry (1999), Hilary Swank's Brandon Teena is forever judging how much of himself it is safe to show. His eagerness survives that calculation, and Swank makes both readable without making either seem simple. We see someone who wants to be desired, rather than a character waiting for the next terrible thing to happen. This is the Swank we rate most highly: alert to what someone hopes for, even when being around other people is exhausting.
Her early work included The Next Karate Kid (1994); Boys Don't Cry was her breakthrough. Million Dollar Baby (2004), directed by Clint Eastwood, put her physical commitment to work as aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald. The intensive preparation associated with Swank suits characters who have to work hard at being taken seriously. It also carries a risk: we can start to notice the actor's labour before we notice what the character wants. Her performance for Kimberly Peirce in Boys Don't Cry avoids that problem.
Peirce has a crucial second actor in Chloë Sevigny, whose Lana does not explain every response to Brandon. Swank's eagerness has something to meet in Sevigny's reserve, and their attraction never needs announcing. We were moved by the quiet attention Lana gives him, because Swank makes the pleasure of receiving it so clear. The supporting characters could have fuller lives, but these two give the film enough to make its distress worth bearing. Swank is doing difficult work here without making us spend the scene thinking about how difficult it is.
Later work has included biopics such as Amelia (2009) and the western The Homesman (2014), as well as television. Some of those biopics, including Amelia, met mixed or negative reviews. The danger in repeatedly playing resilient people is that a film may give her plenty to endure and too little else to do. We would welcome more parts that ask for the curiosity and pleasure she finds with Sevigny. Start with Boys Don't Cry, but leave room for some quiet afterwards.
Biography
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress and film producer. She was born on 30 July 1974 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and grew up in Bellingham, Washington. After her parents divorced, she moved to Los Angeles with her mother in 1990 to pursue acting.
Swank first became known for her role in the television series Camp Wilder (1992) and made her film debut in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). She gained wider recognition for her performance as Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid (1994) and as Carly Reynolds in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997–1998).
She received international acclaim for portraying Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004), winning Academy Awards for both roles. Swank has also produced and starred in films including Amelia (2009), Conviction (2010), You're Not You (2014) and What They Had (2018).
