Congratulations, Hilary
Dateline: 1/25/00 
Hilary
Swank took home a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a
Motion Picture (Drama).
I am not surprised. I don't know if it is possible to adequately describe Hilary's performance in Boys Don't Cry..
In Kimberly Peirce's film, Swank plays Brandon Teena, a young woman in the American heartland who is brutally murdered for passing as a man. This Brandon is a seducer and a sweetie. It is absolutely mesmerizing to watch Swank charm the girls otherwise left to choose from big tough redneck brutes.
Swank carries you through this picture: the joy Brandon feels the first time he kisses the girl on the roller-rink floor or gets knocked down into a bar room brawl while defending a young lady's honor; the exhileration when he finds acceptance from a new group of friends -- Swank's perfomance exudes life and possibility. When things are going good, you watch in absolute thrall, and you feel giddy for him.
The pain that follow hits just as hard. Harder.
If you wonder why you never heard of Swank before, you need only look at her filmography. This actress was best known for her stint on the Fox Soap Beverly Hills 90210 or as the star of her own Karate Kid picture, The Next Karate Kid. She also had a bit role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not the stuff of fine acting.
Swank, herself, seems to have trouble believing her success. On the way to the stage to receive her award, Swank got a congratulatory kiss from rivals Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. "To be mentioned in the same breath as the other nominees, it blows my mind. Meryl, you are my acting god," she said. Swank dedicated her award to the real Brandon Teena.
Oscar talk is already putting Swank as a front runner for best actress. I only hope so. Last year, Gywenth Paltrow took the prize. She played a boy, too, in Shakespeare in Love, but who did she fool? Certainly not me, and not young Shakespeare, either. The academy awarded her for those long golden tresses and the readily revealed bosom. Swank's acting is on another plane altogether.
Again, congratulations, Hilary. After Boys Don't Cry, I left the theater too choked up to talk. So did my friends, and so did the entire audience. Bravo.
Hillary Swank Home Page
For her biography, fan club, latest news, movie database and more.Hilary's Next Role
Previous Articles
You think a Golden Globe isn't going to take you places?
Photo Credit
Photo By: Sam Mircovich
Reuters Ltd.
