Bully

Very real and compelling portrayal of a murder involving a group of teens growing up in suburban Florida. I could relate to the characters on many levels. Growing up in suburban Philadelphia I could have easily replaced the characters in the movie with people I in knew in my youth. It was a rude reminder of just how easily things can spiral out of control if you get involved with the wrong crowd and put yourself in such a precarious situation. Although there were some parts of the movie that seemed over dramatized, it captures the violent and self destructive lifestyle American teens are exposed to, and the story is very well told and acted. Some might be put off by the crude sex and violence, but if you are able to look past that it a very entertaining movie that I would highly recommend.

I was shocked to see all the positive reviews this film has received. I question why anyone would consider this film to be a masterpiece, when in reality it's a filmmaker's attempt to exploit a "based on a true story" account. I think that if this movie had not been based on a real event, that it would not have had the obvious leaps of faith shown in some of the positive reviews I read. I agree with the decision to film the movie in the most gritty, realistic way possible, but that seems to have been the only good decision the filmmakers made. The casting was horrible. Their fresh faces and hard bodies did not convey the drug-abusing, low self esteemed kids involved in the true event. Was everyone really so convinced that Nick Stahl was such a horrifying bully? He was as scary as a ant. One good asskicking would have taken care of the situation. The threat was not there. Rachel Miner couldn't decide whether she wanted to be "crazy" or just "confused". Brad Renfro's good looks and obvious superior physical stature over Stahl's also make him a doubtful victim of being bullied. And finally, why are adults always depicted as such one-dimensional dolts? When Ali asks her Mom, "Can you call a hotline to report a murder?(paraphrased), her response to her is "Oh, Ali what are you kids up to?" What?? If the adults were depicted as realistically as the kids were, then perhaps the story would have carried so much more weight. The biggest culprit is Clark, who just wanted to show people how cool and controversial he could be with a camera in his hands. He violated everything sacred in making a good movie - especially how to tell a story! In one scene, he scans down to one of the female character's crotch while she's getting a pedicure - for no reason! Truly disappointing.

Lots of teeny/twenty something viewers will wax indignant if one can't see this as a brilliant piece of art. However, if Larry Clark is a genius then why does he deal with the blindingly obvious? Virtually every kid I know has behaved like this; I behaved like this when I was a kid - jeez I'll bet even some of our parents did. Okay - apart from the murder part. It does misuse the 'based on a true story' to portray events - from what I have read it is very, very loosely based on a true story. Anyone who has watched other people taking drugs knows how boring it is, and the sex is only there for titillation. Most of the * scenes have little to do with the plot and yes - they do seem to point at the fact that the director is a pervert. There simply is no need for us to see Bijou Phiip's crotch in 'that scene' - it has been clearly established at that point that the character is a tad slutty. Well those who love it have little understanding of art and those who rail against it are reacting in a way that gives Clark the publicity that he wants. If you want to watch a pointless * epic rent it. If you're a little more grown up I'd give it a miss.

Larry Clark first shocked the film world in 1995 with the explicit and relentless 'Kids'; and that's the movie he has become known for, and will be remembered for. However, Bully is a superior movie in every way. Unlike Kids; Bully is not an aimless attempt to shock the population. It is evident throughout the movie, with the nihilistic view of sex and murder, that Larry Clark's main intention here, like with Kids, is to shock the viewer. But here the shocks aren't gratuitously over the top (with the exception of the actual murder), and because there is a plot, the shocks are allowed to become more shocking as we can care for what's going on, not just see the shocking images. Also unlike Kids, Larry Clark has put more emphasis on the characters and they are built up somewhat, unlike the cold shells we were presented with in Kids. Of course, the characters in this movie are based on actual living people and are not just works of fiction and therefore they are bound to have more depth. Bully is based on the true story of a group of kids that killed their mean friend in order to end their problems. The character of the 'bully', played to perfection by Nick Stahl, is presented in a manner that very much makes him the villain of the piece. However, at the same time; the bully is given a human element; it is obvious that he's not a true villain, but rather a sexually confused teenager and therefore, when he is killed; the audience is made to feel guilty for wanting him dead, and we can therefore identify with the other characters throughout their guilt. And this is a great thing for a movie to do; Bully takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride and therefore it is a hard movie to forget. Unlike Kids; we're not shocked by what we see, we're shocked by what we feel and this makes for some very uncomfortable viewing. The entire cast of Bully excels in their roles, and that's just another good point to add to Bully's already impressive resume. All characters involved are made believable and they all have their contribution to the story and none are lost within the film, and therefore, they all manage to stand out from the others. Bully is impressive in many ways; the story is presented well and we are able to care for it, it is well acted, well characterized and the direction is more than competent. Overall, Bully is a great, if uncomfortable roller coaster of a movie, and it is therefore recommended to those that want to see movies that break the Hollywood mould, and movie fans in general.

Controversial director Larry Clark's based on real-life events "Bully" is sometimes quite hard to watch, but you can't quite stop yourself from watching the misadventures of these messed up children either. This film feels so real, so nitty-gritty, that at times, you may feel like an intruder, watching someone else's life. These children are so far removed from being children, it is hard to think that they actually are just children. After all, the concept of a group of kids killing their so-called friend, well, its hardly child's play now is it? The cast are great. Brad Renfro is top-notch in all his performances, here is no exception. Bijou Phillips is great, Rachel Miner is cunning, Kelli Garner is a lot of fun, Michael Pitt is slightly annoying, but entertaining nonetheless. Nick Stahl is intense, to say the least. Of course it would be hard to say you condone the actions of these "kids", after all, they murdered. But it makes for gripping drama. The film also reveals the sentencing which the kids received for their parts in the murder, some of which was very surprising. A great film, but you need to be in the mood for a hard-watch.

I watched this movie because I had seen Kids and thought that it was a pretty well directed movie. I base a lot of my movie viewing on directors and I figured that I would give Larry Clark a shot. I knew nothing about the movie before viewing it, I didn't even read the back of the DVD. This movie was one of the most astonishing films I have ever seen and I have seen a whole lot of them. The fact that it is based on a true story amplifies the impact. I will definitely read the book that it is based on and would recommend this film to my peers. As a warning, there is a good bit of nudity, strong language, and violence. But if you can sit through it, its worth it!

This is a interesting and frightening film, worth a viewing by every parent of teenage children. Whether they know it or not, their children at least know children like these; they are living in a world that includes this reality. Some of the best insights are in the portrayals of the parents. Every one of them believes that their child has fallen in with the wrong crowd, and they are all right. What they don't seem to be able to conceive of is that their child IS part of the wrong crowd and why it is wrong. None if then could be described as a good kid being lead astray, but all of them, except the psychologically monstrous Bobby, do have some appealing, or at least pathetic qualities, and might have been saved by adult intervention. But there is none and they are lost from the beginning. These parents can't see their children, don't know their children, seem to be afraid of them, afraid of confronting them either because they fear losing them or pushing them into even more destructive behavior. They seem to care, but not enough to risk embarking on a messy intervention. They only want to relate to them as the accessible children they used to be. So the children (even though are 16-22, they are emotionally 8-10) are so addled by drugs and alcohol and sex that have no concept of the reality and consequences of actions. They do seem to have a good grasp of the one fact that their lives are essentially hopeless, what they are doing is unsustainable and can not lead to anything but self-destruction. They know it, but it is no more real to them than a video game. Nothing is real; you just hit the replay button and do it over. And there seems to be no one in their world, but other teenagers just like themselves. This includes the "hit man" they have mistaken for an adult, more competent than themselves, able to lead them in safely freeing themselves from the sociopath who main interest in life is controlling them, torturing them, convincing them they are worthless and helpless. It is gut wrenching to watch them deteriorate, individually and as a group, in the face of the actual murder and its aftermath. Watching them is like watching school children hijack their own school bus and accelerate toward a brick wall: watching the crash in slow motion, fascinated and helpless, seeing the expressions on their faces change, seeing them looking at one another, saying "it wasn't my idea, I didn't do it, I didn't mean it" as the gap closes. The conclusion, the prison sentences, is devastating.

There's something about the kids in Larry Clark's films, such as this, Bully, and his 1995 classic Kids (which took place in New York and had the feel of an un-interviewed documentary), where the characters are brought so vividly to life, and their contemplations and actions in their dead-end lives, that I get reminded of the people I was around back in my grade school days (I've been out of the public school system for six months now). I remember the lay-abouts, the complainers, the overly medicated, and of course I remember the bullies, laying on abuse that sometimes they weren't even aware they were inflicting. Nick Stahl plays Billy, bully among a circle of teenage friends in Hollywood, Florida, and his best friend from childhood is Marty, played with striking intensity by Brad Renfro, has been daily receiving torment, if not with punches and slaps, then more on the mental side. Soon, his girlfriend makes a suggestion "he should be killed", and very soon after that the circle of friends agree, and then it continues, along with a so-called hit man, a good small part for Fitzpatrick who was noteworthy in Kids. There will be some out there who may not be able to stomach the elements - it's unrated, not a bad move, and there are as many moments of sex as in a Cinemax soft * and as many moments of smoking dope as in a Method Man/Redman production - but that's all part of Clark's overall effect, and he pulls it off like a true craftsman and not as a overly exploitation film-maker. This circle of friends are a sad, hollow representation of the kinds of societies the youth of the nation inhabit, and the key is that it's correct, at least in such a banal suburbia. Grade: A

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source: Bully