When Bully came out in 2001 it somehow slipped under my radar. But I recently listened to an interview with director Larry Clark on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast. Clark spent a lot of time talking about this movie. He recounted the hoops he went through to make it, including kidnapping Brad Renfro and forcing him to detox in the car on the long drive from California to Florida. Clark was forced to hire socialite Bijou Phillips in order to secure financing. And his allotted days to shoot kept being reduced even as Renfro disappeared to find drugs. After hearing about the difficulties in getting it made, I had to see the movie.
Bully is based on a book that’s based on a true story. It’s about a group of Florida teens who are somewhat aimless. They spend all their time hanging out with no ambition to do anything more. The only one with plans for the future is Bobby (Nick Stahl), who hopes to go to college and start a business with his father. But Bobby is a tremendous asshole. He’s an extreme bully with zero remorse. And his best friend Marty (Brad Renfro) has had all he can take of it.
Marty’s girlfriend Lisa (Rachel Miner) can’t stand the way the Bobby treats Marty, blackmailing him with a sex tape and often physically abusing him. And Bobby is a rapist. He raped both Lisa and her best friend Ali (Bijou Phillips). There’s no arguing that Bobby is a terrible person, so Lisa and Ali manage to recruit four more kids to participate in Bobby’s brutal murder.
The sex scenes in Bully feel like soft-core porn, and it’s frightening to see how ruthless teenagers can be. They still live with their parents, yet they’re capable of murder. They spend their days drinking and doing drugs, so maybe that sense of aimlessness made murder feel less serious. Like they were simply getting rid of a problem.
One thing that adds to the disturbing nature of the story is the convincing performances by all of the actors. Larry Clark maintains that he pushed them all, yielding the best possible work. Even Bijou Phillips, who Clark said “can’t act a lick.”
I also couldn't put Brad Renfro's sad end out of my mind while watching. His 2008 overdose was not shocking, but Bully reminded me of his wasted potential.
Bully is a hypnotic movie that will stick with you for days. Especially if, like me, you can’t stop thinking about how soon your own children will be teenagers.