Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Based on the true story of a Nebraska girl, Teena Brandon,
who pretended to be a boy and was raped and killed by her girlfriend's friends when
they discovered her real identity. With Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard,
Brendan Sexton III, Alison Folland, Alicia Goranson, Matt McGrath, Rob Campbell and
Jeanetta Arnette. [1:56]
SEX/NUDITY 9 - Many instances of sexual innuendo and several kisses, some
passionate. There are several instances of a female-to-male transsexual having sex with a
female: In an extended scene, a girl kisses another girl passionately, undresses her,
caresses her bare breasts and performs cunnilingus (we only hear the girl's moans and
see her facial expressions); we then see her thrusting on top of the other girl --
presumably using a plastic phallus we see earlier in the movie. In two other scenes, we
see the two girls kissing and one removing the other's shirt; it's implied that
they are about to have sexual contact or have just finished (in one scene, we see part of
one girl's breast and in the other we see a girl's bare back before she puts on
her coat). We see a shirtless man, a girl in her panties wrapping a cloth bandage around
her breasts to flatten them and another girl in her bra and panties; also, we see a
girl's bare backside as she's showering, a girl's genitals after two men
pull off her underwear and a man's bare buttocks after he finishes raping a girl (see
VIOLENCE/GORE below).
VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - Two people are shot and killed (we see blood splatter on
the wall behind one of them) and one is also stabbed after being shot. We see a corpse
lying in a pool of blood and another with a blackened, swollen eye. Two extended, graphic
and extremely disturbing scenes of two men abusing a woman: in one scene, they punch, kick
and hold her against a wall before pulling off her pants and underwear; in a later scene,
they tackle and punch her repeatedly, rip off her pants and shirt, then rape her (we see
one thrusting on top of her in the backseat of a car, then one bending her over the back
of a car and thrusting). Afterwards, she has many bloody cuts and bruises on her face and
back; in a later scene, we see her crying and punching herself in the head. Several
pushes, punches and scuffles. A group of boys chase someone inside a house, then bang
their fists on the walls and throw something through a window. A man purposely puts his
hand in a campfire, shows scars on his chest and leg from self-mutilation wounds and runs
a knife blade along his bare chest (he doesn't cut himself). We see someone fall off
the back of a moving truck several times while playing a game. A man pulls people out of a
car and drives off without them. Reckless driving. A man yells at a young girl after she
apparently urinates in her pants while sitting on his lap.
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 10 - At least 90 F-words, some profane finger gestures, many
anatomical and scatological references, several mild obscenities, a couple of insults and
many instances of name-calling. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Gender identity, transsexualism, lesbianism, falling in love,
deception, murder, rape, ex-convicts, use of marijuana and inhalants, drunkenness and
alcoholism, dysfunctional families and friendships, homophobia.
MESSAGE - Ignorance, prejudice and jealousy can inspire cruelty and murder;
murder is tragic and senseless.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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