Bully

Name: Bully
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: July 13, 2001
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 45
Cast: Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl

2001

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 113 Ratings

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9.0

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9.0	User Score Universal acclaim based on 113 Ratings

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Bully

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Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: July 13, 2001 | TV-MA

Starring: Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl

Summary: A film based on the true story of the brutal 1993 murder of high school student Bobby Kent.

Director: Larry Clark

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 113 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Larry Clark's Bully calls the bluff of movies that pretend to be about murder but are really about entertainment. His film has all the sadness and shabbiness, all the mess and cruelty and thoughtless stupidity of the real thing. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

If you stick with Bully through its seemingly endless repetition of themes and its hurl-inducing hand-held camerawork, it does build a crude, indefinable power. Read full review

Rene Rodriguez

There's a terrible beauty to the work of Larry Clark, the controversial photographer turned filmmaker, that transcends chic nihilism. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

If it weren't so rivetingly realistic, it would be an easy film to dismiss. And if it weren't so easily dismissible, it would be an easy film to defend. Read full review

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Oddly, Bully's only moments of power come at the film's end, after the crime takes place.

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

Like the recent "Baise-moi," Bully is a whole lot of shock and titillation trying to pretend it's saying something. Unlike the French import, however, there's no awareness of its own absurdity, nor anything for the audience to care about in the slightest. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

By turns turgid, embarrassing and plain off-putting. Read full review

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User Reviews

RobertN.

Aug 11, 2008

I followed the court case and i feel although the characters might not have been portrayed as they looked and for the most part as they felt. Larry Clark did a wonderful job making them real. Every actor and actress in that movie was amazing. I am sorry to see so called "movie critics" cant I followed the court case and i feel although the characters might not have been portrayed as they looked and for the most part as they felt. Larry Clark did a wonderful job making them real. Every actor and actress in that movie was amazing. I am sorry to see so called "movie critics" cant see that… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

frankrog29

Feb 9, 2017

Bully is one of my favorite movies. The style of the movie is stark realism, and I can attest to the realistic nature of the characters because I grew up around similar people in the South. The film is extremely well-executed and extremely disturbing. The plot is simultaneously mundane andBully is one of my favorite movies. The style of the movie is stark realism, and I can attest to the realistic nature of the characters because I grew up around similar people in the South. The film is extremely well-executed and extremely disturbing. The plot is simultaneously mundane and Shakespearean. The story is very specific, yet universal because it could happen anywhere, anytime. The actors are very convincing in their portrayals of these unfortunate young people who have little to no positive influences in their lives. Probably the best thing about the movie is the ending, which is one of the most shocking and devastating that I have ever seen.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LP.

Jan 30, 2007

Pretty good, VERY disturbing movie. Though the literary license adds/omits various realities, and many people criticize the film for this...one cannot deny how close to true this scenario is.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Meatpasta

Jun 30, 2020

I honestly really enjoyed this film, i thought it was an realistic portrayal of how teenagers would act in a situation like that, it explored the different characters well, and it wasn't boring

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DerekF.

Jul 31, 2006

I feel this movie was pretty wacked. It made you think, that there are people out there who are capable of killing someone just because they can't take thier abuse.

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CaptainHowdy

Jul 22, 2020

I was very wary when I saw Larry Clark's name on this movie. Clark has a well-earned reputation for being borderline-exploitative with young actors, and this was no exception. There's tons of drugs, nudity, and violence, all things that are relatively par for the course with Clark.

ForI was very wary when I saw Larry Clark's name on this movie. Clark has a well-earned reputation for being borderline-exploitative with young actors, and this was no exception. There's tons of drugs, nudity, and violence, all things that are relatively par for the course with Clark.

For the first half of the film, I found everything to be fairly unrealistic. The way the characters talked and the fact that they told nearly EVERYONE they knew about what they were going to do. In the second half, I found it completely believable that the characters acted and reacted the way they did to the situation. These chatty-kathys couldn't keep their secret for more than a few days, and everything fell apart exactly as you'd expect. After Bully wound to a close, I came to find out that this film is a true story. The major events played out on screen more or less as they did in real life, and the characters' names were not altered for the movie.

The movie's strengths lie in the unflinching portrayal of its central event and the sense of inevitable doom afterward. Clark really creates a sense of "Oh, **** This really can't be undone and is going to end badly." That the film stayed as close as it did to the source material is admirable when so many other films tend to mess around with the facts for Hollywood.

Bully's weaknesses manifest themselves in the dialogue. Some of the dialogue is just really unbelievable and clunky, even for late teenagers. Perhaps the characters say what they're going to do over and over because they're trying to talk themselves into it, or maybe they do it because the filmmakers wanted everyone to know that this act was premeditated. If it's the former, it's clever but not strongly executed; if it's the latter, it's just hamfisted.

Furthermore, the character of Lisa Connelly (played by Rachel Miner) makes some jarring turns. We see her go from what seems like a relatively sweet girl to a complete psychopath then back to a sweet girl without any warning at all. Maybe the girl was like this in real life, but you get no clues early on the film that she's really this disturbed. Then, all of a sudden, POW, she's completely, heartlessly crazy.

Another point of contention is the music. This event occurred in the summer of 1993, yet all of the music I recognized came out afterward, sometimes by years. The characters were watching Eminem videos that wouldn't come out for another 8 years. In a particularly bizarre turn, the characters are listening to Cypress Hill's album "Black Sunday" which came out a week AFTER the main event of the film. It's just sloppy if you're going to make a film based off of real events using real people's names but you mess up on getting the little details right.

Bully is a good film, slightly above average, but not a great film. It's worth watching once, but I feel no need to watch it again.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TealH.

Jul 11, 2007

While it's true that Bully resembles some of the nitty gritty stuff of angsts working class teens, the myriad of flaws tip the scales and make the movie just awful. I expected MUCH better acting from Brad Renfro, who I'm usually a huge fan of. If someone had told me that this film While it's true that Bully resembles some of the nitty gritty stuff of angsts working class teens, the myriad of flaws tip the scales and make the movie just awful. I expected MUCH better acting from Brad Renfro, who I'm usually a huge fan of. If someone had told me that this film was made by a couple of freshman college film students, I'd believe it unquestioningly. Creepy, often dull, and if it makes any sense, this movie is just plain senselessly mean. No chemistry between characters, no suspense, no point.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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93	#93 Most Discussed Movie of 2001
81	#81 Most Shared Movie of 2001