Review of Bully (2001) by Josh S — 29 Nov 2009

By way of unhappy movies, this one takes the cake. Done like Kids (1995), the film is nauseatingly realistic in the sense that the camera infects you with the art of being present for everything that goes down in this movie. It is brutal, chaotic, exploitative and thoughtful. At first, it seemed as if this was just an excuse for director Larry Clark to film young people fucking, however, it turns into something that runs in any teen's life at one point: intimidation. There is no end in sight here. Where one problem ends, another problem comes in to take its place. This indie film provides a heavy message that is enshrouded in subtlety, the fact that this film received such bad reviews is laughable. Forget about the etiquette and aesthetic values of cinema, this film was meant to be raw and unrelenting. View at your own caution, but it is recommended.

Although Kids was a much better depiction of teen angst and frustration (probably due to collaborator Harmony Korine), Bully takes a similar idea and rolls with it, based on a true story 1993 murder case, the film catches fire at the halfway point and careens into insanity with the speed of a flaming jetplane. Really odd depictions of sexual lust and troubled violence made it seem almost like a snuff movie, however, once seen in its entirety, you find something tragic and real that begs the question, what are our kids doing these days?

Not for everyone, but recommended to anyone.