This movie is kind of a shame. The initial conceit and inciting action is really uncomfortable and bad. I was sort of waiting for the artistic kind of flourish to feel like it was commenting on something or making a statement of some kind, but it never does, it just gets folded into the plot. And by the end when she's ""into it""ù and you realize they've sort of left that part of the movie behind, it falls apart and is hard to enjoy. ESPECIALLY because I had no idea who Vincent Gallo was before watching, and afterward when I looked into it and found out what a complete stinker he is, it soured the movie even more. Christina Ricci was only 17 when this was filmed, which is already gross that she's the love interest for someone twice her age, and that's BEFORE you take into account everything her character is forced to endure in the film. Apparently he made sure her mom wasn't allowed on set during filming? YUCK.
And that's a shame because so much of this movie is SO good and emotional and human. And there are awful characters in here that truly get real doses of humanity and compassion. The filmmaking is good, and there are some super interesting shots and techniques. There are some amazing jokes and really well done comedic beats. It's emotional and compassionate, and I was engaged the whole way through. I kept hoping for an ending that would include compassion, humanity, and most importantly, agency for Christina Ricci's character. But that never comes. I was left cold in the end, and was hoping someone online would be able to explain why I was wrong, but all I found was evidence that this guy is a right wing psychopath. What a letdown.
I can't in good conscience recommend this, which is a shame, because in another world with a less toxic filmmaker, this could have been something.
Review by moonkodiBlockedParentSpoilers2016-12-04T15:16:54Z
Starts with a guy released from jail that seems an asshole needing a piss. He takes a randon girl along with him to see his parents. He's unlikable.
His mother is purposely forgetting the past as a defence mechanism to hide the truth and cover her own failings. Many hints of parental guilt (maybe more stubbornness.) A fear of the boy you damaged is now a man and can hurt you (not physically.) The parents display a fakeness with layla. This is very true to life as much of this movie is. Billy is enduring painful memories of torment and being unloved but keeps quiet. The parents take to layla and demonise billy (like the knife pointing). Billy gets a little jealous of Layla's acceptence but not too much. He expects it. The questions are why do the parents hate Billy so much? Why did Layla go with Billy and what is her motivation? Whenever Layla discusses Billy the parenst don't want to know and zone out. An act of hate you rarely see on film. I'm thinking Billy being an asshole at the start was a clever way to make the viewer judge him. If the viewer can't snap out out of disliking Billy and have even a bit of sympathy then they won't enjoy the movie. The mother says she wish she never had Billy so we get closer to the truth. They blame Billy for all their failures, broken dreams, boredom and misery. It's abuse. So why did Billy take layla and why does he not hate his parents? He probably wants to be accepted and portray an image to them.
Billys bet portion of the story unfolds. He lost money and has to confess to a crime as payback for losing the money or his parents will have evil things happen to them. Point being that Billy could have had his revenge on his parents but he chose jail as he isn't like his parents in nature. Does he hate them? I'd say hes more conditioned. Is Billy A better person? Yes. But he's certainly a control freak that makes the simplest of tasks harder for himself.
Billy plans revenge on the guy he blames for the bet going wrong. After he l3aves his parents house he analyses and feel paranoid about the visit. This is a good character.
Billy goes bowling. Seems a place he actually has good memories and escapism but he still has high anxiety when things start going slightly wrong for him. The owner of the bowling alley is really well played. You can see he's watched Billy from a young lad and has sympathy (may he wishes he could have done more). The Billy character gets better as it goes on. Delicately damaged. Not too OTT and believable.
Billy and Layla stop for a drink and bump into Billy's past. Here we see Billy's social position and defensive/offensive mindset. He's reminded of who his is within groups and is made to feel bad for that. He could have had any women, which would have made him more normal by societies low standards, but his mind was different and he had bigger issues. We see the point when you realise you're just not like other people on screen.
Layla is slightly fascinated with Billy and good for him even though she or he doesn't know it. It's not totally a blind relationship. I think it works by feel. He sees her as pushy (she is) and she's a little mischievous. A good test for him. She finally gets to touch Billy and it's a genuinely tender moment as he has a problem being touched. I'm guessing he was never held much as a child or shown love so this is plausible.
Billy finds the guy who he wanted revenge on. He kills the guy and then kills himself. I thought it was an awful end and luckily it was just a thought. Movie saved. He changed his mind as he watched his parents at his fantasy funeral not giving a shit. He realised he did have someone that loved him back at the hotel room. The message i got was that It's hard to love when you haven't been loved but even an unconventional love is worth living for and can heal.
I enjoyed the movie a lot. I can see it not having a wide audience as it really is about one characters personal struggle and whether you relate to it or not. I think anyone with bad parents will especially like this. People that had bad parents yet made something of their lives with materialistic things will probably see billy as a loser or a bad reminder and dislike this movie be a use it is also a movie about the viewer being judgemental.
The only negative is that I took in all of the movie on the first viewing and I don't think the movie has much replay value. I'd watch it again maybe in ten years. We didn't find out much about Layla in the end.
Doesn't get more than 8 just because of personal tastes. If anyone else made this it would probably be a 6 at best from me. Very impressive.