by Nathaniel R
Remember Larry Clark? He was one of the chief provocateurs of American indies of the 90s and early Aughts who first broke through with the controversial and popular youth drama Kids (1995). One would assume no one would be eager to revisit his filmography at this point in time given that people are more riled up than usual about sex scenes, the male gaze, and actors placed in sexually compromising positions. But surprise -- local rep house The Metrograph just held a Larry Clark retrospective.
A friend wanted to see Bully (2001) so I went along, solely because it's so rare that it's someone else and not me who is all "let's see this movie!". Though the themes were familiar (sex, drugs, dead end lives, and 'the kids are not all right' amorality), as was the leering camera, I'd forgotten nearly everything else about it other than that I had preferred it to Kids (1995), which I just couldn't stomach at the time...
Rachel Miner and Bijou Phillips in "Bully"
one of the infamous crotch shots, Bijou actually moves her crotch directly in to the camera as she moves from the back seat to front seat of a car.Larry Clark was on hand for the screening and much to the crowds surprise he used his meandering intro to repeatedly slam one of his stars Bijou Phillips. He thinks Bully is one of his best films and he praised the then-young cast and said they were all total professionals except for her. And that though she won good reviews anything worthwhile in the performance is his fault. He claims to have spent 90% of his time on set directing her, and 10% on everyone else, since 'she was terrible.'
I've never before heard a director slam one of his stars while holding a mic! I felt bad for her only to recall that the last time I heard her name was because of allegations from Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls) about her own homophobic bullying behavior on the set of this very movie. Phillips hasn't been acting for some years now and Clark also rarely directs anymore so I guess nobody is worried about burning bridges.
As for the movie itself, it was stronger than I'd remembered, if still nausea-inducing and not just for the violent act at the center of the true story. Its sense of humor (I didn't remember that it'd had one!) was as brutal and humiliating to these characters as they all were to each other. But I hadn't remembered at all how strong some of the performances were, especially Brad Renfro as the abused friend turned killer, and a hilariously stoned Michael Pitt who generated big laughs despite the grim proceedings. The movie's homoeroticism was particularly queasy given the coy suggestion (coy since everything else about the movie is in-your-face) that Bobby (Nick Stahl), the titular character with a thing for making his friend's watch gay porn, may have also been raping Marty (Brad Renfro) in addition to all the other physical and psychological abuse he's heaped on him over the years.
My biggest takeaway from the film was the sadness (all over again) of losing Brad Renfro (RIP) and Nick Stahl (still with us but not working much) from the screen. They were two of the most promising young actors of the 1990s and drugs undid both of their careers. Unexpectedly it was the tertiary actors here that went on to have healthy if non-flashy careers: Kelli Garner, memorable as a blue-haired rehab escapee, and Daniel Franzese, as a local kid roped into participating in the crimes by the girls he's hot for, Lisa (Rachel Miner) and Ali (Bijou). They're both still popping up regularly in various TV and film projects.
Have you ever seen this movie? Do you have any strong memory of Larry Clark's oeuvre?