A decade ago, my friend John Gregory Dunne called because he knew I was from Nebraska—he wanted help on a piece he wanted to report for The New Yorker about the rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman who’d been passing as a man in Richardson County. I knew nothing about the story at the time, but introduced him to an Omaha lawyer who was helpful. Of course, now the whole world knows about “Brandon Teena,” thanks to this very good, very harrowing depiction of the last weeks of her/his tragic American-gothic life. The film turned Hillary Swank into a star, but also features the best performance on film by Chloe Sevigny (as Brandon Teena’s lover, a woman who apparently still lives in Falls City) and Peter Saarsgard as the more charismatic of the two killers (who is still on death row in Tecumseh). (Kurt Andersen)

Awards

Academy Award Winner: Best Actress (Hilary Swank); Academy Award Nominee: Best Supporting Actress (Chloe Sevigny); Independent Spirit Awards Winner: Best Supporting Female (Chloe Sevigny); Independent Spirit Award Winner: Best Female Lead (Hilary Swank)