BULLY

2001
Based on a true story.
Director:  Larry Clark
Writers:  Jim Schutze (book)
           David McKenna (as Zachary Long) and
          Roger Pullis (screenplay)
Starring:  Brad Renfro and Nick Stahl

Let's be blunt here...this is a fucked up story.  It is true, therefore, it must be told.  Now, I watched this film quite a few times years ago, however, I recently watched a documentary on it.  Thanks to the Biography channel (YOU ROCK!), I knew just from reading the description that it was the same story.

Oddly enough, the stories from the movie and documentary drifted apart in certain aspects.  Primarily, the focus on who the victim is and who the "real bad guy" is differs here.  I know films can fabricate issues in stories and still slap the "this is based on a true story" sticker, attracting a wider audience, however, I just don't see why they would have to fabricate a story that is already outrageously bloodcurdling.  Let me discuss a little of each so you can tell me what you think...

The gist of the story goes a little something like this.  There are a group of teenage friends who are abused physically, sexually, and verbally by one of their own.  It is disturbing to watch, yet even more confusing to grasp the concept of why this "bully" remains in the friend category for so many people.  I pondered this until they all murdered him.

The movie really makes the murder of the "bully" seem justified, especially for the main character, who is the "bully's" best friend.  The movie shows mild slashes of brutalization towards the best friend.  This abuse includes random punches to the face, peer pressure, and absolute loss of control that is surrendered to manipulation.  Just to get a glimpse of what I'm referencing, the most disturbing scene contains the bully violently interrupting the best friend having sex with his own girlfriend to rape her.  The best picture I can paint for you of this bully is visualizing that douche bag you see at the bar every weekend who is obnoxiously violating every girl's personal space, and multiply him by 4,738.

The documentary on the other hand, declined to mention the intensity of the abuse the bully submerged his so-called friends in.  If I recall correctly, there wasn't even any mention of the numerous rapes he committed throughout the film.  It makes me wonder if he even was the monster that the movie easily convinced the viewer to hate.  Perhaps the documentary only relied on the words of the bully's family, forcing them to neglect the acknowledgement of the defensive, justifying words from the guilty gang of friends.  I distinctly remember one policeman's statement from the documentary.  He blatantly claimed that this group of people, or malicious killers depending on who you ask, would have killed regardless of the circumstance.  He claimed that if it wasn't the bully, these losers in his eyes would have murdered someone else.  He truly believes they are animals with that crooked "Ted Bundy" look in their eyes.

In my opinion, the reasoning behind the murder of Bobby Kent remains a mystery.  We all are aware of the power behind peer pressure mixed with anger, but this story is pretty hardcore.  In the case the movie has more truth intertwined in the story, I can see how this situation could come about.  Bullying and its effects, especially recently, has unfortunately intensified.  As much as I believe that two wrongs don't make a right, this story reminds me of some episodes of Oxygen's "Snapped", where battered wives are abused and mutilated to the point where murder is the one and only escape from the fatal darkness.  Although the documentary would naturally be looked upon as holding more truth than some movie, something inside tells me there's more to this story than the loving families of all those involved will ever know.  With everyone either dead or rotting behind torturous bars, will we ever know the secrets that hide behind the curtains of what happened the night of July 15, 1993?