This is an incredibly powerful film. And it is heart-wrenching, make no mistake about it. The performance by Hillary Swank is utterly amazing, and Chloe Sevigny is also fantastic in her role. It will make the homophobic among us quite uncomfortable, I'm sure. If you can keep an open mind and open heart, you can feel for these people deeply and care what happens to them. Brandon Teena is not portrayed as a perfect person, but as a human being with faults and with dreams and needs that are shunned by most people around him. These things do happen in real life if you choose to recognize it. This film sheds light on intolerance in a pioneering and honest way. I can't recommend it highly enough.