Clark pokes his lenses where they don't belong; and though the actresses both are 21, they look young enough that the film edges uncomfortably close to child pornography.
Comment
07/27/01
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Bully (2001)
51
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:84
Fresh:43
Rotten:41
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: With its lingering shots of naked teenage bodies, Bully feels more sordidly exploitative than realistic.
Theatrical Release:Jul 13, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is not a nice guy. He beats up his "best friend" Marty every chance he gets, he abuses Marty's girlfriend Lisa, and he rapes Lisa's friend Ali. From director Larry Clark... [More]
Starring: Nick Stahl, Bijou Phillips, Brad Renfro, Leo Fitzpatrick
Director: Larry Clark
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Reviews for Bully
Top CriticGo with an open mind.
07/27/01
Inadvertently, Larry Clark has come up with an art-house parody of Tim Hunter's River's Edge and an annoying assault on the senses.
07/23/01
Some call it realism; I'd call it exploitation.
07/20/01
It feels like a peek into the closet of a pedophile and it's genuinely discomforting. And not for the reasons the film should be.
07/20/01
Clark is not some objectified, outside adult observer making an after-school special, but an artist who has made a leap into this teenage mindscape.
07/20/01
Top CriticThe product of a talented director and cast, and also the stuff of lasting nightmares.
07/19/01
Fixated on young flesh, it never really get us inside the skins it keeps stripping naked.
07/19/01
Top CriticClick to read the article
07/19/01
The actors who play the characters deliver such flawless performances that they don't even appear to be acting.
07/18/01
The result is that these astonishing, pathetic kids are so true that we believe them.
07/16/01
The shockingly intrinsic performances Clark gets from his cast bring the picture an energy and potency that's hard to deny.
07/16/01
A riot of sleazy camera moves, bad acting, and maladroit profane dialogue.
07/16/01
An honest piece of work by a filmmaker who has found his level.
07/13/01
Top CriticClark doesn't want to portray disaffected youth honestly; he wants to ogle young flesh.
07/13/01
Brilliantly unsettling.
07/13/01
Top CriticSome of his detractors have called Mr. Clark a pornographer, but this is an insult to honest smut-peddlers, who treat their subjects with more respect than he does.
07/13/01
Top CriticA truly repulsive piece of trash that says far more about the absence of values from contemporary filmmaking than the waywardness of teens.
07/13/01
Top CriticIt becomes disturbingly clear that Clark is himself exploiting his young people, ogling their unblemished bodies.
07/13/01
Top CriticClark bludgeons the same points over and over (and over) again.
07/13/01
Latest News for Bully
January 17, 2008:
Brad Renfro: 1982-2008
Brad Renfro, star of The Client and Apt Pupil, passed away Tuesday of unknown causes. He was 25. More...
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