We are all familiar with them, they come in all shapes and forms, span social and cultural boundaries and have become an unfortunate part of our culture.  They are the bullies, those that feed on, and gain power from the emotion of intimidation and force.  Secretly, the oppressed and the put upon dream of exacting their revenge and venting their pent up frustrations on their tormentors.  So in a way, most of us can relate and associate with the characters in Larry Clark's, acerbic vengeance tale, Bully.  As in In The Bedroom and John Q, it shows what happens when emotions can drive people to extremes, except for the fact that this is sadly, based on actual events.  Not only does Clark allow us to live vicariously through these characters, but he also shines the light on a much more glaring issue.  if the youth are the future of our country, then maybe the future is in trouble and is not as bright as it may seem.  Larry Clark’s brazen no holds barred Bully is a strong in your face commentary on a subculture of today’s youth that will hit closer to home than many care to admit.  He focuses in on the spoiled, unmotivated, carefree slacker stereotype, wrapped around the true story of the 1993 murder of a young Miami man caught up in a web of hatred and jealousy.  His approach may be criticized for the extent to which shows, exploits and delivers the message, but there is no denying that this movie will grab your attention, and possibly open your eyes to a festering wound that is spreading across America.

Subtlety is not a term that would be used in describing Larry Clark’s filmmaking style thus far.  He does not shy away from showing blatant sexual situations, casual drug usage, and graphic violence, but he does it in the context of emphasizing a point, rather than exploiting its presence.  Needless to say I would not want to swap childhood stories with he, or Todd Solondz.  If a filmmaker’s style and content are any reflection of past experiences, then these two must not have had happy times growing up.  Clark uses his abrasive stylings this time around to make a commentary, while regaling this story.  The facts of the story are this:  In July 1993, Bobby Kent was found dead in the desolate areas outside of Miami.  Within days, a group of people, including his best friend Marty, Marty’s girlfriend Lisa, her best friend Alice, her boy-toy friend Donnie, Alice’s cousin Derek, and a hired “hit man” were convicted of murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. We are introduced to Kent and Puccio, lifetime best friends, in a relationship that borders on masochistic.  Kent has an odd obsession with homosexuality (one of the few subtexts that Clark doesnt explore, but which adds another facet to things), and takes his agressions and frustrations out, physically and verbally, on Puccio.  Marty is a seemingly placid surfer, prone to eruptions of emotion bottled up over years of abuse apparently.  He is dating Lisa, a dropout, seeking love and attention, which she thinks she has found in Marty (although it appears more lust than anything else) Her best friend, Ali is a vice-ridden loose cannon who helps Lisa explore the wild side buried deep within her psyche.  Marty's parents are oblivious to his abuse, while Bobby's think Marty is the bad influence, often threatening to move him away to remove the evil from his life.  The frustration comes to a head after Lisa finds out she's pregnant, and Ali is raped by Bobby.  What follows is the methodical, eerie, and often sadistically calm hatching of the plan, played out with an unflinching brutality and honesty.  Clark takes a two-pronged approach in his presentation of the story.  From one side, he delves into the lives of the characters to show and represent not only a sad section of society, but also a wake-up call to parents and others.  On the other, he unflinchingly presents the facts, the motives, the reasons, the planning, the justification, and the end results of human emotions overcoming rational thought.  These teens are not unlike most, past and present, having to deal with pressures presented by environment, expectation and circumstance.  Bully tackles both social commentary and representation of events, in a balanced way, pulling no punches so the audience can grasp and feel the full extent of the repercussions.  These are kids who are at a crossroads of life, trying to become adults, while still struggling with the freewheeling nature of their youth.  It is a  culture where its denizens often waste entire days with casual sex, casual drug usage, driving their parents expensive cars, hanging out in malls, arcardes or comic book shops, or just indulging the whims of their inner beast.  By allowing us into the lives of the characters, Clark also presents an interesting contrast, the have’s, namely the victim and his family, and the have-nots, everyone else, ranging from surfers, to comic store workers, to high school drop outs, leaving the question of motive for our own derivation.  Personally, I saw it not only as a crime of hatred, but one of jealous and envy (as witnessed by a conversation between Alice and Bobby regarding his future).  Clark never takes sides in the matter either, saying that the killing was justified, nor saying it was unnecessary, instead presenting both sides of the case and allowing the audience to derive its own conclusion.  This is a sad tale, but even sadder is that the situations in this movie play out in more of this country than most will care to admit.

The performances of the young stars not only bond things together, but also create a relatable sense, necessary to elicit any kind of emotion.  Renfro and Stahl are the most recognizable members of the cast, and their performances are the most memorable.  Stahl has shed any pretty boy image he had, and truly makes Bobby despicable, and yet creates a small air of sympathy with his eyes that seem to be screaming that he is putting on a façade based on expectations and pressure.  Renfro, bulked up and nearly unrecognizable, creates an angry, frustrated aura, which sometimes explodes, and hides very little.  Of the remaining performances, the most interesting are Pitt (Tommy Gnosis from Hedwig) as the near masochistic, but somehow innocent, Donnie, and Fitzpatrick (a grown up carryover from his incendiary teen mockumentary Kids) as the brutal, by the numbers hit man who seems to be the only rational voice amidst the emotionally volcanic and building madness.  Overall, the cast each embodies differing aspects of the same problem, and should relate in some way, to situations and people that we know.

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