Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 5
Jennifer Venditti's doc Billy the Kid turns "special" into a double edged sword, forging a sharply honest film around a strangely enigmatic -- if awkward -- kid named Billy.
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 0
Jennifer Venditti's doc Billy the Kid turns "special" into a double edged sword, forging a sharply honest film around a strangely enigmatic -- if awkward -- kid named Billy.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 753
Filmmaker Jennifer Venditti crafts a cinéma vérité-style coming-of-age story with this portrait of a small-town teen from Maine who struggles to embrace his outsider status while still being shaped by the tragic events of his childhood. It was while casting the Carter Smith film Bugcrush that Venditti first encountered the boy named Billy -- his eccentric wisdom leaving an immediate and lasting impression on the filmmaker. Later, after casting Billy in the film and preparing to craft a
Mar 11, 2007 Wide
Oct 28, 2008
Elephant Eye Films
All Critics (34) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (5) | DVD (1)
The best documentaries take you places you don't normally have access to.
A raw, touching, unfiltered look at the teenage angst that Hollywood usually turns into brain-dead comedy.
Billy's resilience, though, is nothing short of amazing. Not to mention part of growing up.
Billy the Kid, a movie that's as interesting as it is dewy-eyed, may be the rare snapshot of an adolescent 'outcast' who is really the guy made for fame, with a built-in radar for how to present himself in front of the camera.
Nobody ever said growing up a small-town geek was easy. I know from personal experience, and so does Billy Price, the subject of director Jennifer Venditti's affecting documentary Billy the Kid.
I don't imagine any adult could watch Billy the Kid without sharp pangs of recognition; everyone who passes through the crucible of teenage-ness feels at least momentarily as awkward as Billy.
Billy, who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, is sympathetic, but you can easily understand why he's a social outcast. This is a film about Billy, not about his condition.
The rough and ready filmmaking technique makes it challenging for the viewer at times, and perhaps a stricter editing discipline could have tightened the film
Opens as a study on a teen with some social/behavioral issues. The film makes sure never to label, then gently tangents from the study into a sweet spontaneous love story.
Watching Billy the Kid duplicates -- as much as any movie probably can -- the fascinating process of trying to figure out someone you've just met.
What you ultimately take from the film is the awareness that this smart, self-aware, uncensored kid has been playing to a camera in his own head since well before Venditti came along.
Billy the Kid is an unforgettable, distressing, riveting snapshot of a boy and his world; a high-speed descent into pure impulse that should not be missed.
Without a hint of irony, he spouts off, I hope the next film I'm in is action. So do I.
What makes Billy the Kid extraordinary is not that it grants seeming access to private moments, but that it makes clear as well the inherently public nature of the filmmaking process.
Billy may come off as an odd duck, but he's not mean or too peculiar. Actually, he's pretty likable, which is why you'll probably find yourself rooting for him to get the girl and to be happy for a change.
... a window into the world of adolescence, where everything is immediate and intense and important.
Very sweet and endearing documentary with a great subject. I think anyone can relate with the awkwardness. My problem comes with how they dealt with one aspect of his life (his love for a girl) and we only gets bits and pieces of some really nice scenes. I think that to say this kid is "normal" is kind of a stretch,
August 14, 2009Super Reviewer
Get ready to cringe uncomfortably as you get to experience those awful, awkward teen years all over again. God, 15 was a tough age.Billy, the subject of this fantastic documentary, may be a tad strange and angst ridden (what teen isn't?) but all in all he's a sweet kid with a weird way of expressing himself. The
January 1, 2009Super Reviewer
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