Boys Don't Cry vs. The Brandon Teena Story vs. All S/he Wanted vs. Death of a Deceiver

I last watched Boys Don't Cry probably 10 years ago, and then I read Aphrodite Jones' infamous true crime book, All S/he Wanted, and murder Tom Nissen's Playboy interview, "Death of a Deceiver," 5 years after that. This year I finally watched The Brandon Teena Story after the tape had sat on my shelf untouched for years, and that spurred an All S/he Wanted reread, and then I broke and bought Boys Don't Cry on DVD (it's not available anywhere online!) and rewatched it tonight, so ... this compare/contrast essay was inevitable. Full disclosure, I got 1,000 words into this review before I realized it was insanely disorganized, scrapped it, and started over from scratch. 

The bare facts of the case first, if you're not familiar with it:

 

( Read more... )

 

OK, now let’s compare and contrast a little, starting with structure and going by order of publication/distribution. 

 

( Death of a Deceiver )

 

( All S/he Wanted )

 

( The Brandon Teena Story )

 

( Boys Don't Cry )

EDIT: Since writing this review, I've learned that Kimberly Peirce identifies as genderqueer and used the film to explore her sense of masculinity, and even went by a masculine name and he/him pronouns for a while. Having read her comments on the film, and her comments on how tricky it is to identify as a lesbian when one is not quite female, I feel more secure saying she understood Brandon just fine.

OK, now that I’ve done a general overview of structure, tone, and transphobia, I’d like to explore the characters and how they’re portrayed as well. 

 

( Brandon Teena )

 

 

( Lana Tisdel )

 

In reality, as best we know, Lana was never in the farmhouse. She received a late-night visit from Lotter and Nissen, but didn’t know where they were going or what they had planned. In the morning, worried primarily about Brandon but also about Phillip and Lisa, Lana and her sister Leslie drove out to the Humboldt farmhouse, which was already surrounded by police. They gave statements to the cops and were cooperative throughout the investigation. 

 

( John Lotter )

 

In reality, there is reason to believe that John was more involved with the murders than Jones portrays him. He was the one who stole the revolver used to kill Brandon, Lisa, and Phillip. The knife used to stab Brandon was also Lotter’s, and he was the one with a long-term crush on Lana. According to Lana, it was also Lotter who made the Christmas Eve party uncomfortable. He was deeply drunk when guests arrived and spent all night publicly interrogating Brandon about his sex, even “joking” about raping him hours before the actual rape occured. In “All S/he Wanted,” Lana says the only reason she agreed to leave Brandon at the Nissen house and go home is because Tom was there, and she and Brandon both trusted Tom more than John. 

That said, I’m pretty sure – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that while Lotter had the motivation, Nissen took the lead.

 

( Tom Nissen )

 

In reality, Tom Nissen recanted his testimony and admitted that he was the one who shot all three victims. Whether this is true or just another lie is up for debate, and I’m not sure whether to believe him – but I also can’t imagine what his motivation is if he’s lying this time, too. Maybe just for street cred, who knows? 

 

( Lisa Lambert )

 

 

( Phillip DeVine )

 

Worth noting, as I mentioned earlier, Tom Nissen was involved in white power movements. I don’t think he ever met Phillip DeVine, but he certainly knew who he was, and at times he’s claimed that Lana and Leslie both approached him and John and asked them to get rid of their boyfriends. I don’t put much stock in that. I think Tom Nissen was probably thrilled that he got the chance to kill a Black man, but I don’t think he knew Phillip was there; his target was Brandon. That said, it’s made clear in All S/he Wanted that Leslie’s father did not approve of her dating Black men, and Linda Gutierres did not approve of Lana dating Brandon. If someone really did put Lotter and Nissen up to the killings, my money would be Linda or Leland, most likely Linda – she had a relationship with the boys; Leland did not. 

 

( Linda Gutierres )

 

 

( Sheriff Laux )

 

Finally, a note on the Brandons and on Brandon’s name. 

 

( The Brandons + Brandon as Intersex )

 

Okay, and my last note, on Brandon’s name:

 

( Brandon Teena )

 

ETA 11/19/25: Corrected some misspellings, added a note about Kimberly Peirce's gender identity, and corrected the name of Lisa Lambert's child from "Tucker" to "Tanner."

OK, that’s it from me. I’ll leave you with my ranking of the Brandon Teena stories – in order of quality, the order I think you should watch or read them in:

1. Boy Don’t Cry. Watch this first; it’s empathetic, it’s easy to understand, and it’s emotionally accurate, even if the details are sometimes wrong.

2. The Brandon Teena Story. Watch this next to correct your misconceptions.

3. All S/he Wanted. Read this for the full details, but take it with a grain of salt. I’ve heard that “Black on Both Sides” also covers Phillip DeVine in detail, so if you’ve had your fill of Brandon but want to know Phillip’s story, skip All S/he Wanted and read Black on Both Sides instead.

4. Death of a Deceiver. The quality of this article is actually higher, imo, than All S/he Wanted. But it is, after all, a Playboy article. It’s short, it’s OOP, and you’ll give yourself a headache tracking it down.