The embarrassing discovery of a misspelling on the banner for this months' LAMB MOTM, whose name I mistook for being "Buddy", could be seen as a foreshadowing of my experience of actually watching this movie. Bully, although only one consonant away from it, is anything but a movie called "Buddy".
Based on a real story and the book written by Jim Schutze, BULLY centers around a group of lazy teenagers that do little less than sleep with each other. One of the kids is Bobby, who treats his "friends" like s*it, especially his childhood best friend Marty. One day, Marty's new girlfriend Lisa decides that the Bully must die. No one disagrees.
If you're searching for a discomforting and unsettling experience, with anything in it that could be described as sick, inhuman, immoral or similar - except cannibalism - you'll hit the jackpot with Bully. It's a story that has a lot of ingredients I love in movies, some I like, and some that make for interesting, challenging watches but I know will upset me in a bad way. The first group (ingredients I love) are the teens and the splash of coming-of-age. In this case however, they don't really come of anything, although they go through some typical coming-of-age phases and actions. There is also the crime element - who doesn't love a good crime story? In this case however, we already know who did what, why and how, so it's more of an insight scoop on the crime. Ingredients I like are the psychologically disturbing elements and character treats, the social commentary/ criticism and Los Angeles setting. But now to get to the core of it all: ingredients I do like but don't enjoy. These are thought-provoking and discomforting in a great way, something I need to experience once in a while but really rather wouldn't sometimes. That's hard drugs, a loooooooot of sex including rape (I'm not prude or anything, The Dreamers is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I don't think anyone would really enjoy the scenes in Bully), teenage pregnancy and prostitution. And we're not talking Pretty Woman prostitution, but the Mysterious Skin/ Christiane F sort of thing.
So where does all of this leave me with Bully? This is not a movie I enjoyed. It's a movie that made me want to dig a big black hole in the garden and hide in it - either that or surround myself with sunshine, rainbows and innocent little children for a month. I would want to re-watch Bully anywhere in the vicinity of the next, say, 10 years. That being said, I do think it's a great movie, and in that way, it was an enjoyable experience. One that tested and probably crossed my boundaries and made me face some conflicts and perceptions of life that I don't usually consider. It's a well-directed, well-scripted, well-acted movie and I have nothing to complain about it whatsoever. So in the end, I appreciate the fact that this depressing and thought-provoking indie got chosen to be the LAMB Movie of the Month, because I got the chance to watch something I had never heard of and maybe would've never seen otherwise.
BULLY
2001 • USA/ France • English
dir. Larry Clark (1st watch of mine)
written by David McKenna & Roger Pullis
★ Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner + more (incl. Michael Pitt)
FINAL FRAME: STRAWBERRY
I enjoyed Bully, even though I thought a lot of the nudity was unnecessary. Those kids were ridiculous. I think the majority of them are out of jail now and got their sentences reduced.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was one of my issues too. On the other hand, these kids did have a lot of sex so you have to show some of it. One of the attorneys from the case said that if you were going to make an exact reproduction of what happens, 75% of the movie would've been sex.
DeleteI was shocked to hear that this was based on a true story btw.
I haven't seen this but yeah, there are movies that despite being good, we don't want to see anymore. Mine is Cannibal Holocaust. It was shocking and I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think I'll be watching it again.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Antichrist, and Cannibal Holocaust as well, are two movies I think I need to see and I am curious about, but I know it's not going to be a piece of cake.
DeleteI only saw it because of the MOTM pick too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it's a strawberry despite being a very hard movie to watch. I do think it'd be better if it wasn't so exploitative with all the nudity, though.
That's one thing I love about these blogathons and one of the reasons I try to join each one these days - you're forced to watch something, whatever it is.
DeleteAs I commented on Brittani's commect, I agree on the nudity but I think some of it was necessary.
You should look into Kids by Larry Clark too. Its shot in a similar destructive tone but is a way better film.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up of a complex film and I'm glad you don't think you wasted your time watching it and writing about it.
It's on my watchlist, in my head at least. Especially after falling in love with my first Korine movie, Spring Breakers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joel, I'm glad about that too!
I thought Bully was a terrific film. Very tough viewing but rewarding in its ferocity and a fascinating depiction of this social sector. The performances are universally excellence as well.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's great to hear! I listened to the LAMBcast after this and was surprised by how few of the people really liked it.
DeleteThis movie is unrelentingly brutal, isn't it? I appreciate certain aspects of it, but damn, it's a tough watch. And hell, it isn't even Clark's most brutal film.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I heard that too, Joel mentioned some other movie that sounded pretty brutal on the LAMBcast. It's one of the toughest watches I've had this year.
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