Review of Bully (2011) by Tor M — 22 Aug 2015

Larry Clark's strikingly brutal drama which is based on actual events. About a group of amoral and sexually promiscuous high school kids who plan to murder one of their own, a heartless bully named Bobby Kent, played superby by Nick Stahl, who is the college bound golden boy of the group and is also a repressed homosexual and sadistic rapist that loves to torment and sexually abuse them.

Especially his handsome, slow-witted best friend Marty Puccio, who he has bullied since childhood and has a homoerotic, sadomasochistic relationship with him. Marty is played brilliantly by the late Brad Renfro, who delivers a sensitive and realistic performance, he captures Marty's pain and the simmering rage just beneath the surface as the frequent victim of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of the cruel self-loathing Bobby, who makes Marty have phone sex with older men for money and further humilates him by also making him dance on stage at a gay strip club so patrons can stuff bills into his shorts.

Even Marty's new girlfriend Lisa, well played by Rachel Miner, is not safe from Bobby's abuse, one day while having sex with Marty she is attacked, beaten and raped by Bobby who storms into the room knocking Marty off of her with a thick leather belt.

Lisa's best friend Ali, played excellently by Bijou Philips, has also been viciously raped by Bobby, while he makes her watch a hardcore gay porn video. Lisa who is fed up with the way Bobby treats Marty and the sexual abuse she and Ali have endured by him, comes up with the idea to kill him as a way to solve everyones problem, they lured him to the Everglades wetlands where he is stabbed and savagely beaten to death, but that of course does not end the trouble in these teenagers aimless lives.

Expertly directed by Clark, the controversial photographer and filmmaker who makes an impressive feature debut with this hard hitting film. Exceptional supporting performances by Michael Pitt, Kelli Garner, Daniel Franzese and Leo Fitzoatrick.

Intense and absolutely riveting, the film contains full-frontal nudity, graphic sex, graphic violence and non-stop profanity. Note: the film's young star, the talented Brad Renfro, who was one of the hottest teen idols of the 90s, and was discovered at the age of 10, making his brilliant film debut in "The Client," which starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, suffered from addiction problems in his teens and early twenties which hampered his career, sadly he died of an accidental heroin overdose on January 15, 2008 at the age of 25.

A fascinating but difficult motion picture to watch, and not for all taste. Highly Recommended.