In the mid ’90s, I remember vividly my friends and I hearing about a group of teenagers not much older than myself taking their friend into an isolated area in Florida and giving him the ultimate betrayal. As we talked about how crazy these kids were, neither me nor my friends wanted to believe that something like this could happen. These group of kids looked no different than the kids next door or even us for that matter.
Several years later this incident was totally forgotten by me until I happened to spot the movie Bully while I was browsing a dvd store on-line. Initially what caught my attention was the image of Brad Renfro on the cover. I enjoyed the movie The Client and always thought Renfro was a remarkable actor for his age. While reading the synopsis, memories came flooding back of the story I had heard about several years ago. I thought it would be interesting to see what the heck was going through these kids minds.
Bully
Living in Broward County Florida, Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro) and Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) seem on the surface to be inseparable. However, very early it is realized that Bobby is a bully. Bobby is not the take your lunch money type bully. He is the bully that everyone should be terrified of. His bullying ranges from punching and beating to the absolute horror of rape.
When Lisa Connally (Rachel Miner) meets Bobby and Marty working at a local Publix, she is immediately drawn to Marty. Her best friend Ali Willis (Bijou Phillips) is present as well and the two girls begin spending time with Marty and Bobby. It doesn’t take long for Lisa to witness and realize just how horrible Bobby is.
She notices a big change in Marty’s attitude whenever Bobby is around. While Bobby constantly berates Marty, instead of standing up for himself he seems to take his anger out on Lisa. In Lisa’s mind, Bobby is the source of everyone’s problem since his bullying is not limited to only Marty. If beating up isn’t enough, Bobby also rapes and beats both Ali and Lisa. Lisa believes the only way the abuse will stop is if Bobby is done away with entirely.
Lisa has a problem. She wants to rid of Bobby, but not alone. Therefore she recruits Ali and Marty in on her plan. Ali in turn recruits her drug induced boyfriend Donnie Semenec (Michael Pitt) to come along for the ride. Donnie wants no part of it, but within the blink of eye changes his mind when Ali promises lots of drugs. Ali brings along another drug induced friend named Heather Swallers (Kelli Garner).
Now the circle is complete. The 5 get together and make plans. The first plan to murder Bobby goes awry when Lisa loses her nerve while alone with Bobby and Ali. Now with Marty upset, Lisa begins to panic and recruits her cousin Derek Dzvirko (Daniel Franzese) to help with weapons. Ali in turn recruits a friend also named Derek (Leo Fitzpatrick) and also known as the “hit man” to neighborhood kids. The “hit man’s” job is to give pointers and tips on how to carry out a murder.
Even while all the kids gathered together and brought knives and bats with them , no one really thought that a murder would really happen except Lisa and Marty. There were jokes about beating him up and then outright questions about what would happen, but they really didn’t seem to think it was real. It was like this a game to the majority of them. However, under the lead of the supposed hit man Derek Kaufman, the kids pile into 2 cars and lure Bobby Kent to an isolated pond late at night on July 15th, 1993. For Bobby, this would be his final night.
The Main Characters
Brad Renfro : Even though Brad has been in several movies such as Apt Pupil and Sleepers , he is best known from his part in the movie The Client . He did a remarkable job in his role as Marty Puccio, and the lead in the movie. Although playing a dirty role, Brad’s performance makes it hard not to feel just a bit sorry for him. I mean, the poor guy was beaten up daily and Brad perfected his facial expressions and crying scenes so much that my heart really went out for him. In looking at the real Marty Puccio, there is a scary resemblance that Brad shares with him. This in turn makes his role as Marty even more believable.
Nick Stahl : Nick Stahl plays Bobby Kent. The real Bobby Kent was over 6 feet tall and very buffed up, so it is really hard to imagine Nick as the real Bobby. Nick and Brad stand about the same height yet Brad is a bit more built than Nick. Physically, Nick in no way looks believable as a bully. After watching the movie though, I know exactly why they chose Stahl for this part. His performance is flawless. His role as a bully is extremely convincing despite his lack of physical prowess. Nick is also known for his role in Terminator 3 and the HBO series Carnivale .
Rachel Miner : Although Rachel Miner appeared in several soap operas, she’s really better known as being Macauley Culkin’s ex wife. In the role of Lisa Connally, Rachel showed she can act just as well (and in my opinion better) than her ex husband. I ended up not liking her character much at all, but that’s only because Rachel did such a wonderful job portraying a jealous girlfriend out for blood.
Michael Pitt : Michael Pitt plays Donny Semenec, and he does such a great job as a drug abuser that I think he may have actually been under the influence while filming. If not, then this guy deserves an Oscar for his performance in this movie. Michael Pitt’s performance is simply outstanding. He is hands down the top performer in the movie. Michael can also be seen in Murder By Numbers .
The other performances were decent enough (Leo Fitzpatrick did a good job as the hit man), but not anything noteworthy.
My Thoughts and Recommendations on Bully
This movie is definitely a disturbing movie and is not intended for children of any age, or really even for adults with weak stomachs. The film is directed by Larry Clarke, who is known for making disturbing movies such as Kids (also starring Leo Fitzpatrick) and Gummo . Larry once again leaves nothing to the imagination on this film as well. There are graphically brutal scenes, and way too much sexual content that seems to be overdone. Those scenes sway away from the plot of the movie and I will never understand why Larry included some of the scenes that he did.
However, this film does accomplish something many movies about teens fail to do. This is an in-your-face, no holds barred, no sugar coating involved look at the way a lot of teenagers and even young adults live. I am not implying that most teenagers are violent. I am also not saying that all teens are drug abusers or slackers without a care in the world. I personally know several teens who are genuinely beautiful people and more mature than a lot of adults.
However, there are some teens who can relate because they have been in similar circumstances in their day-to-day life, and Clarke doesn’t hold anything back in portraying the kind of enviroment these kids were living in. This film will not allow you to overlook anything. What really bothers me the most though is that the parents are really nowhere to be found. While these kids are all drop outs and partying their useless days away, the parents seem to just turn the other cheek. It is frightening to think there really are parents out there like that and their children are taking everything about life (including murder) as a big game.
Although disturbing, I recommend this movie for two reasons. The movie really is good because of the fine acting. Also, the fact that this has become a reality in today’s society. Clark does a great job being as “real” as he can with this film, makes it something worth watching.
Additional Information
– Rated R for strong violence, sexual content, drug use and language – all involving teens.
– Runtime: 113 min / USA:109 min (R-rated version) / USA:113 min (unrated version)
DVD Features:
– Available subtitles: English, Spanish
– Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
– Cast and crew interviews
– Music Only Track
