One of the very best films of 2007 opens today at the IFC Center in New York, a film that I have had cause to write about here on numerous occasions: Jennifer Venditti's BILLY THE KID. Here's what I wrote when I saw it for the first time at the LA Film Festival:
"This for me was a revelation, an amazingly structured and beautifully rendered film about what it is to be an outsider, starring one of the most interesting characters to grace documentary film since, well Mr. Vig in The Monastery. (It must be a banner year for docs if we can get to meet both Mr. Vig and Billy in the same year.) Venditti's film is so graceful, so funny and yet, at times, so difficult to watch, I found it to be one of the most humanistic films I've seen in some time. There are those who have criticized the film, feeling that Billy was somehow exploited in the making of it. I couldn't disagree more. This is a story of a teenage boy beginning to embrace who he is, coming to terms with what he believes, learning to face his past and have courage in his present. It is, simply, one of the best films of the year."
A number of other bloggers have weighed in on their strong feelings for BILLY (wait - a bunch of bloggers all writing about a film out of SXSW?!?!? Nobody better tell Amy Taubin!) Here's a quick sampling:
Paul Harrill at Self-Reliant Filmmaking:
"Don’t miss this one. It’s easily one of my favorite films — fiction or non-fiction — of the year, and probably the best film about growing up that I’ve seen since Spellbound...
Since Billy’s thoughts and feelings are so close to the surface, throughout I kept fearing that Vendetti’s might teeter into the realm of exploitation. For me, it didn’t. Billy’s an outsider, and while there are undoubtedly some very funny moments in the film, whenever I was laughing at Billy it was because there was a shock of recollection of some similar moment (like his scene of electric guitar heroics) from my own childhood. And even in these moments, I was cheering for him, admiring his combination of guts and innocence."\
Karina Longworth compares BILLY with the other film about high school opening in New York today, Jason Reitman's JUNO in an excellent piece at SpoutBlog:
"It’s an incredibly intimate portrait, and one that feels more universal for its refusal to court a grander significance. In that way, form follows subject: Billy’s actions and pronouncements have no jurisdiction outside his extremely limited purview, because he can’t conceive of a world outside of himself, his school, his house, his first (and, he’s sure, only) love. The adults he’s exposed to are generally bemused but critical of his wordy bravado, while his mom gently tries to coax him into thinking long-term, big picture. In other words, “problems” not withstanding, Billy is just like any kid who has yet to figure out their place in the whole of the universe. Don’t we all have a tough time with that one?"
Previously, director Venditti talked with S.T. VanAirsdale at The Reeler:
"Venditti bristles at the suggestion that the trajectory of Billy's life in the lens was anything but natural, as though the exaggerated artifice of a sensitive, movie-crazed teenager (particularly one diagnosed with the even more intensely obsessive behavioral symptoms of Asperger's syndrome, as Billy was after the film was completed) compromises the film's authenticity or an audience's capacity for empathy. Yet there's a difference between the scammy gimmickry of something like Rupert Murray's 2005 amnesia puzzler Unknown White Male -- which all but fetishizes its incredulity -- and Venditti's thoughtful observation. In literally keeping her distance from Billy and his new girlfriend Heather (usually across the street, or around the corner), and in sharing Penny's admonition to avoid rushing their relationship, she engages the viewer's concern and sympathy."
Finally, Venditti in an Q&A with Our Mister Brooks at indieWIRE:
"I am proud beyond words not only for the film itself, but for how it has opened me up to this world. I can now call myself a filmmaker and I know that for the rest of my life I will make films. It is beyond a gift for someone who has never studied film and never dreamt about being a filmmaker -- "Billy the Kid" made me realize my unknown dream."
Don't miss BILLY THE KID, in theaters starting today in New York City. And in case you haven't seen it, here's the theatrical trailer (full disclosure: the trailer was edited by yours truly).
Comments