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MOVIE REVIEW
Bully
(2001)
Starring:
Brad Renfro,
Nick Stahl, Rachel Miner, Bijou Philips, Michael Pitt, Kelli
Garner, Daniel Franzese
Director:
Larry Clark
Rating: NR
Studio:
Miramax
Release Date: 7.13.01
Review
Posted: 7.26.01
Spoilers:
Minor
By
Angelo
Back
in 1995, Larry Clark released his debut film Kids. It had its share of critical acclaim for its brutal yet honest
portrayal of kids in their early teens. With little or no
parental supervision, they led aimless lives occupied by drugs,
sex and a total disregard for authority. Six years
later, Clark is back with Bully. It could as well be
titled Teenagers for it pretty much picks up where Kids
left off. Bullydeals with unmotivated youths who are so
engrossed with their own little pathetic worlds that they have
lost the distinction of what is moral and what is not. What Kids
couldn’t quite achieve in terms of emotional impact, Bully
accomplishes it, for Clark gives us a powerfully perturbing
film.
Based on the novel by Jim Schutze "Bully: A True Story of High
School Revenge," Bully takes us back to a group of
friends living in Florida. Bobby (Nick Stahl) and Marty
(Brad Renfro) have been best friends since they were little, but
their relationship is somewhat on the bizarre side. Bobby
bullies around Marty, telling him what to do and what not to do,
and Marty is getting fed up. With little self-confidence and no
set goals for the future, Marty is helpless. That is until he
meets Lisa (Rachel Miner), who falls madly in love with him.
Along with her friends, Ali (Bijou Phillips), Donny (Michael
Pitt, who is also in Hedwig and the
Angry Inch) and Derek (Daniel Franzese), Marty and his
new group of friends plan a way to take care of Bobby and rid
themselves of a major prick.
Bully
is a modern morality tale. These kids have nothing on their
minds except getting stoned, having sex and chatting on their
cell phones. They are only concerned with what happens at the
moment and could care less what comes tomorrow. They have no
sense of responsibility whatsoever. Their bodies might have
matured, but their minds have not. With limited parental
intervention, they have led such secluded lives that their sense
of morality and judgment are confined to what is immediately to
their benefit without any thoughts of retribution or
consequence. It is not suggesting that all teenagers act this
way. On the contrary, the film has its share of sane and
rational teens, but it is from the other side of the pole that
we get to see the mindlessness of a group of kids.
The film has been criticized for exploiting its youthful cast,
with several scenes of sexuality and nudity, but I beg to
differ. I did not think that any of the scenes were done just
for the sake of shocking us, but rather to show us the reality
of how these kids were living. Bully has this
everyday life look to it, making it rife with rawness and vigor.
The cast also adds to the film’s effectiveness with their very
strong performances.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them make it big in the
years to come, just as Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry)
emerged from Kids.
It’s been a while since I have seen an excellent film this
year (the last one being Panic),
and I can safely say that the summer drought is temporarily over
with my viewing of Bully. Before I went to see it, I have
not read anything about this film in terms of plot or reviews,
and I had no idea who was in it, who directed it and so forth,
and boy was I in for a surprise. Bully is one of the best
films of the year.
Rating: 4 out of 4
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