Hey folks, Harry here... BULLY is going to be one of the most hotly contested films we see this year... I promise. Some will call it genius, others will call it shit to be flushed. Personally, I can't wait to side in one way or the other. But the film will cause a stir.... and stirring the pot is good from time to time.... And we have a very interesting reviewer this time out... Here he is... Read...
Hey Harry,
I wanted to provide an opposing viewpoint to the critique you posted of Larry Clark’s movie “BULLY.” I should state up front that I’m not a detached outside observer. I wrote a movie that Larry directed called TEENAGE CAVEMAN that is going to be on HBO this fall. (It’s part of HBO’s “Creature Feature” series where they’re remaking five 1950’s horror/sci-fi movies from the American International Pictures library, done by independent film directors. Robert Rodriguez was going to do one, “The Brain Eaters,” before he got Spy Kids. I talked to you about this a little at last year’s San Diego Con. Other directors include Sebastian Gutierrez doing THE SHE CREATURE and George Huang’s HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER. Stan Winston co-produced and did the effects.) So Larry Clark is a friend of mine. But I’m not a bullshit artist; I have had friends work on movies that I didn’t like, and I just keep my mouth shut about them. That’s what I would do in this case if I didn’t like BULLY, but I thought was great, and I feel I should explain why.
“Chachie” (the guy who critiqued Bully on your site) has a right to his opinion, and it’s a perfectly legitimate viewpoint that I suspect a lot of people will share. But I think he (and they) missed the point. This is a movie about a brutal crime committed on a fucked-up, asshole of a guy by a bunch of amoral, fucked-up people. You will probably not identify or sympathize with any of the characters. That’s not why this movie was made. But (from everything I have heard about the real-life case the movie is based on), this is what these people were like. This was not a brilliantly conceived crime that you’d find on an episode of Law & Order. It was half-assed and ineptly done. Several of the kids involved didn’t even know the guy they were killing, they just went along for the ride. It’s fucked up, and that’s how the movie portrays it.
I think this is the most real, raw depiction of a real-life crime that I’ve ever seen. Yeah, there are times in the movie where you want to smack the characters because they are being so stupid, but if they were smarter or had more of a sense of right and wrong they wouldn’t have done what they did. This movie is unrated, and kids under 18 aren’t supposed to see it, but I think it would be good for kids in their late teens to watch because it does not in the least glamorize anything that happens in it. Though there are moments of black humor, there is nothing appealing about the situation. I can see kids watching FAST & THE FURIOUS and wanting to race cars, or Danes and DiCaprio in ROMEO & JULIET and thinking dying for young love is romantic and wonderful. But I can’t imagine anyone seeing this movie and wanting to emulate these kids in any way. In fact, they might realize just how un-glamorous and ugly this type of thing really is.
For me, what really makes BULLY hit home is what happens after the murder, when it starts to sink in to the kids that they’ve done something really wrong and they’re going to burn for it. As they flip out and turn on each other you almost start to feel sorry for them. The scene where Marty (Brad
Renfro as the kid who was bullied) gives his little brother his earring and hugs him, knowing he’s going to get busted any minute, is incredibly poignant because you see an echo of how he could have turned out if things had been different. The performances are really impressive.
I do have to outright disagree with Chachie on a couple of points. First, he doesn’t see the point of the scene in the gay club. Well, the point is that Bobby (the bully) forces Marty (who is not gay) to strip onstage so they can make a hundred bucks. That’s the crux of their relationship. Bobby controls Marty and forces him to do humiliating and exploitative things for his benefit, and just because he gets a kick out of it. That’s what makes Marty want to kill him. This scene is also important because Bobby is portrayed as possibly being gay (though he buries his feelings deeply and gets angry when accused).
Second, Chachie feels the sex is exploitative and unnecessary. I disagree. It’s necessary to show how these kids felt about sex (and by extension themselves). It means absolutely nothing to them. Bobby rapes the character of Ali, and yet she still uses sex to lure him into the trap the others have planned (and she actually has sex with him). The sex scenes are portrayed in the least erotic way possible, and are often brutal. This is probably why Chachie (who says he likes porn) was so upset by them. This isn’t porn. These scenes aren’t meant to titillate, but to disturb.
(As an aside, I’m puzzled as to how Chahcie considers this movie “kiddie porn” when the characters are legal adults; and yet says he liked KIDS, in which the characters were under 18.)
Bottom line, as you said yourself, Harry, this is a movie that will elicit strong reactions from people. They’ll either think it’s brilliant or an abomination. I happen to think it’s brilliant, and a very important movie at this point in our post-Columbine culture. It’s not “Hollywood” at all, with neat explanations about how the characters “got this way,” through abuse or whatever (though in some cases these things are hinted at), and it doesn’t have clear explanations about why they did what they did the way they did it.
Life doesn’t work that way. And neither does BULLY. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of work that I think people should see and evaluate for themselves.
Take care,
Chris Gage
P.S. For those who think Larry makes exploitation movies disguised as art, well, wait for TEENAGE CAVEMAN, which, if it comes out right, will be art disguised as an exploitation movie. Although I’m sure you & your crew will have your own thoughts on the matter! Take it easy.
