The much talked about new documentary BULLY from director Lee Hirsch (AMANDLA!) has mostly been discussed in terms of its rating, and of course the idea of this film getting an R rating is foolish, bordering on insensitive. But what hasn't been discussed much is the film's content beyond a few swear words, and there's a reason for that. The film is average at best at achieving what it sets out to do, which is to start a dialogue about this clearly out-of-control issue that is directly leading to high school teens committing suicide or, in extreme cases, students seeking revenge on their bullies via school shootings.
But BULLY is a blatantly missed opportunity that fails to deliver a very crucial piece of this situation. We've seen victims of bullying before, we know them well and how much they offer and internalize the humiliation they experience. And as sad and empathetic we feel for the kids featured in this film, bullying is a learned behavior. Despite what we learn in some horror movies, kids aren't born bad, so bullies are bred, often by factors on their home life. And this film doesn't deliver a single first-person account of a bully or his home life. Bullying isn't going to stop unless there are real consequences faced at home, but this film ignores that fact and treats these few bullies we briefly see as creatures that don't exist outside of school, which is nonsense.
My guess is that people's reaction to BULLY will be strongly linked to how deep a personal connection you make with the material. I suspect former or current bullying victims or the parents or siblings of such people will react quite strongly to the film. Of course, there's no denying the impact you'll have watching a child get pummeled on a school bus or being subjected to foul verbal abuse. Perhaps equally as shocking is how utterly ineffectual both teachers and school bus drivers are in dealing with these countless incidents, whether the child be simply socially awkward or has nerdy hobbies or is a minority or is gay (no, I'm not equating the four; I'm just saying these are all reasons kids in this movie get picked on).
There are certainly moments in BULLY that are extremely moving and powerful. One child, nicknamed "Fish Face" by pretty much everybody, tells his family about getting beaten and choked on the bus and how it doesn't bother him because he doesn't even feel it any more. At that moment, you look deep into his eyes and wonder what kind of adult this poor kid is going to turn into. But then there is another girl who reacted to bullying by bringing a gun on her bus and threatening those who tormented her. When you hear the circumstances of her actions, you may question her being in this movie at all, since we never actually hear the specifics of her bullying. Instead, the film focuses on her court case and whether a bullying defense will work to ward off several cases of kidnapping. The police don't believe any amount of bullying justifies bringing a gun on a school bus, and of course they're right.
But every time a counselor or teacher or school administrator uses the "kids will be kids" reaction to a child coming directly to them to complain about being bullied, I wanted to throttle them, and it's in those moments when BULLY gains some power. But in order to confront this terrible, seemingly growing trend, the filmmakers should have looked into the eyes of the monster and attempted to get a bully to talk. This probably would not have been an easy interview to get, but I don't think it would have been impossible either. Bullying is a predatory behavior, and by forcing the bullies to understand the consequences of their actions, the lesson learned here might have saved two lives at a time instead of just one... or none.
Don't expect your mind to be blown or your eyes to be opened. There's very little new information here. Instead, BULLY gives us tough story after tough story, and I'm not quite sure how that is supposed to inspire change. If you decide you want to see this movie, temper your expectations substantially. All that you've read isn't based on the substance of this film, just the bad words.
