Editor’s Note: The following contains the topic of sexual abuse.Larry Clarkstirred controversy with his debut film,Kids,an NC-17 rated exploration of teenage debauchery. Written byHarmony Korinewhen he was just 19-years-old, it depicted adolescents indulging in sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in the streets of New York City, with the threat of AIDS looming large. It was like a feature-length “Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?” PSA thatwas greeted with shock and indignationby some critics and audiences. Yet as disturbing as that movie was, it pales in comparison to another Clark-directed teen drama:Bully. WhereasKidsrevels in its Bacchanalian decadence,Bullywatches with sad detachment as a group of young people destroy their lives with one fatal decision.
‘Bully’ Tells a True Story With Documentary Realism
Bullytells the true story ofBobby Kent(Nick Stahl), a South Florida teen who abuses everyone he meets, especially his best friend,Marty Puccio(Brad Renfro). Bobby terrorizes Marty with physical and emotional abuse, often tinged with homophobia. His abuse extends to others, including Marty’s new girlfriend,Lisa Connelly(Rachel Miner), who he rapes and impregnates. Lisa eventually convinces Marty to kill Bobby, and they recruit her best friend,Ali Willis(Bijou Phillips), Ali’s boyfriend,Donny Semenec(Michael Pitt), their friend,Heather Swallers(Kelli Garner), and Lisa’s cousin,Derek Dzvirko(Daniel Franzese), to carry out their plan. The group hire a self-professed hit man,Derek Kaufman(Leo Fitzpatrick), to assist, and together they murder Bobby and dump his body in the Everglades. Word spreads about the murder, and their inability to keep a secret leads to their arrest.
Before becoming a filmmaker, Clark was a photographer whose1971 bookTulsadocumented teenage depravity in grainy black-and-white images. He brought thatcinéma véritéaesthetic toKids, creating a “you are there” intensity through cinematography, editing, and music that was electrifying to watch. Although the adolescents inBullyengage in much of the same behavior as those inKids, the filmmaking is far more restrained. There’s a dead-eyed detachment to Clark’s approach that’s unsettling to watch. He shows us lots of sex, drug use, and partying, but none of it is exciting because it’s tinged with tragedy.
The 10 Darkest Teen Coming of Age Movies, Ranked
“Hell is a teenage girl.”
Left to fend for themselves in a world that offers them no better alternatives,the teens inBullydon’t so much walk through life as sleepwalk through it. Bobby and Marty work dead-end jobs at the supermarket deli, flaunting the health code as they prepare sandwiches for narcotized adults. Ali makes vague illusions about a child she never sees, tossed off to her parents to look after in much the same way they looked after her. These characters indulge in sex and drugs not for pleasure but tonumb the pain of their existence. The only one who seems to take any joy out of it is Bobby, a sadistic creep who delights in torturing those he’s deemed are beneath him. When his friends decide to kill him, it’s the only thing that temporarily breaks them out of their comas.
‘Bully’ Predicts a Teenage World Awash in Violence
Clark had originally planned to shootBullyin 1999, untilthe real life massacreatColumbine High Schooltemporarily put the breaks on financing. At the time, that shootingwas largely seen as an aberration, a one-off committed by two lonely teenagers with easy access to guns. It feels almost quaint to say that today, as mass shootings have become so commonplace that they barely register as a blip in our 24-hour news cycle. Although Clark wasdramatizing a real life event(adapted fromJim Schutze’s nonfiction book of the same name), his film became a rather prescient study of whatleads adolescents to commit violent acts without considering the consequences.
There are few adults inBully,but one of the few that we see is played by Clark. The director shows up as Derek Kaufman’s angry, deadbeat father, who spends his days drinking and acting out in violent ways. It’s a glimpse of the future these kids have to look forward to, as a series of bad decisions lead to an irreversible one. You never know how young you are when you’re a teen, sometimes until it’s too late. After all, how can you understand the finality of death when you still see yourself as being invincible?
Bullyis available to watch on Tubi in the U.S.
WATCH ON TUBI
