Amidst a long battle with the MPAA,
Bully gained quite a bit of free publicity. The controversy
over its rating seemingly overshadowed its deeper look into an
important social issue. Yet while the MPAA undeservedly gave it a
harsh rating, which is an entirely different engaging question and
subsequent discussion, the social issue and relevancy are delivered
in a stunning, and often emotionally exhausting, way. Bully is,
without a doubt, not only a great piece of cinematic art but also a
wake up call to its target audience.
Bully, the newest film from Lee
Hirsch and distributed by the Weinstein Company, seeks to shed light
on just how bad the issue of bullying has become in the American
educational system today. It follows the stories of families and
individuals affected by bullying and does so in an engaging and
emotional way.
First off, Bully looks
stunning. The aesthetics of the film are quite beautiful, utilizing a
great sense of framing and deep focus. The cinematography is
accompanied by a great minimalistic, almost ambient score. It can be
haunting, yet never interferes with the emotional weight of the
subject. The editing is great, with some notable cuts that have an
almost disturbing sense of comedic timing. The high point of this
type of timing comes from a delayed pause as a result of a school
administrator scolding a victim instead of the bully. The film
portrays exactly what the viewer feels at that point.
The film does not pull any punches. It
presents the acts of bullying and the effect it has on the families
in a sobering way. Bully is a great piece of cinematic work.
The hand-held camera and shifting focus works in a way that recalls
both personal home movies and stark war films. This form is totally
representational of the content. The opening scene intercuts the
results of a suicide and home video of the victim in a gripping way.
The serious tone does not really ever let up. The piece seeks not
only to entertain, but to also force the viewer to look at what is
going on. There are moments where the viewer wants the camera to pull
back, but it can not. It simply must document the events and present
them to the viewer in a compelling way, no matter how painful it may
be.
It does have its emotional high points
though. The film is not a completely dark piece which will leave you
depressed. The ways in which the film portrays the victims of
bullying and some of their optimistic attitudes can bring a smile to
the viewers face. The film ends on a somewhat optimistic point.
However, this never undercuts the reality of the lives lost to
bullying.
Thus, with the overall dark tone, a
question must be raised. Who is the audience for Bully? The
controversy surrounding the films original rating stemmed solely from
the fact that educators would not be able to screen the film in
schools. While some content was reportedly cut from the film, there
is still a considerable amount of harsh language and violence. The
film has its emotional low points that leave the viewer at best worn
out and at worst feeling like they have attended a funeral. While
children are completely capable of emotional complexity and deeply
intelligent thought processes, as the film portrays, the greatest
value of the film will come not from showing it to children, but
rather to adults. The discussions it will raise are pivotal in
starting the change that needs to happen.
The issues presented in the film are
serious and complex. It is easy to write off the film for not really
presenting any answers to the problems or presenting the point of
view from the bully. These critiques completely miss the point. The
problem lies deep within the foundation of our society. Bully
does not present a solution, but rather opens up the discussion for
the rebuilding of our educational and parenting systems. Simply put,
people need to see this film. The only way that things can change are
first through discussion. Bully opens up this opportunity in
an engaging and entertaining way.
