Review of Billy Liar (1963) by J K — 14 Jun 2013

William, it was really nothing. Sometimes you see a film that is so spot on you wish you had watched it earlier, if only it could have revealed even more in repeated viewings.

For me "Billy Liar" was one of those films. It tells the story of William Fisher, a young man bored with life as he sees it around him. He attempts to break up the drudgery, fictional or not, by making up stories to explain his surroundings in a more pleasant context. Sometimes the stories he makes up are just personal fantasies in his head, other times they're an elaborate ruse to dupe people with varying degrees of malice and success.

I couldn't disagree more with a previous reviewer who said this movie deals in dated themes of escapism and power fantasy, somehow related only to and buried in '60s England. The struggle with identity alone that William encounters is arguably more important now than ever in the age of online identity, with rapidly shifting perceptions and loose definitions of self.

Indecision is the theme here. The angst William feels with a foot in the door, almost literally; living with his parents and 'engaged' to two women at once, he clearly wants many things but can never quite dive in.

Commitment is an elusive thing then. For example: when William & Barbara (fiancee #1) are walking through a graveyard discussing their future together, she is clearly excited by their prospects and looks to the right of frame with lots of open space between her and the viewer. He on the other hand is looking the other way, closing off the left side of the shot with little space and shutting us out. This small shot is masterfully set up and conveys his emotions so well without saying a word.

Overall a great movie, reminiscent in some respects to Ozu's work on family, dealing with both sides but ultimately being motivated by self interest, then remorse and regret for it (ironically out of self interest). If you've ever wanted to just hit the reset button on life or wished you could start every day with a blank page then this is your movie.