Charming Billy

Rating:
Summary: "All of us have a tower to climb"
Review: Charming Billy is an interesting, compelling, and thought-provoking psychological drama with admirable acting and production, but not devoid of flaws. The movie illustrated selected events from the life of Billy Starkman, a man who is stuck in a small, nowhere type of town, has to work two jobs to support his family, and is ready to explode from all the pressures placed upon him by the responsibilities of everyday life. The one character in the movie for which he seems to have any affectionate feelings is his grandfather, but the pleasure of their interactions is taken away when he has a stroke. His wife doesn't understand his torment and his parents are either oblivious or dismissive, so Billy feels quite alone. One morning he decides to put on his nice slacks, tie, and button-up shirt, grab his gun, climb the water tower, spend hours shooting passer-bys, and eventually take his own life.

It's a fascinating concept, no doubt, but this visual representation of William R. Pace's story might have benefited from more character development. This is based on a story Pace wrote in college and then expanded upon, and I wonder if his original story had more depth and detail than this movie. If so, maybe it would have been helpful to the viewer if that could have been integrated into this movie. At a mere eighty minutes, I think we could afford to prolong the movie a bit to provide more character and plot development. One character who needed more explaining was Billy's father. We are led to believe that the character is very one-dimensional and small-minded, but discover in the scene when he shows young Billy his suicide note that he apparently has more depth than we thought. But it's hard to believe that someone like Billy's father would come so close to committing suicide, and it really seems as though a scene is missing somewhere. I know this for a fact now that I've seen a photo in Microfilm magazine's summer 2002 issue that shows young Billy standing next to his kneeling father in a scene not included in the movie where Billy "learns life lessons he doesn't quite understand." Perhaps more insight into the father's character would have been provided had this scene not been deleted in the editing process.

Another character who is in need of more development is Billy Starkman himself. Even after considering the many horrific events that take place in Billy's life, I was still unable to really understand how he could have been driven to shoot people. We definitely see that his life isn't a walk in the park, and that his family is painfully unmindful of his mental suffering, but it's still hard to know how he went from lying in the bed with his wife to shooting several people he'd never met in cold blood. Maybe if we had been given more scenes that would illuminate and further explain the terrible happenings in his life, it would be easier to understand his regression. In one way, any person who has had similar life experiences to Billy's can sympathize with him and can commiserate to some degree, but in another it's very easy to say, "Yeah, but my life sucks too and I haven't shot anyone." It may be considered that Billy was mentally ill and his illness caused his collapse, but there is little evidence of that presented in the film.

I also don't understand the crazy character from one of the tower scenes who says he wants to join Billy atop the tower and shoot people along with him. He laughs about the situation and goes off merrily to find his gun, which he tells Billy is more suitable for shooting people from a water tower than the one he is using. I wondered about the purpose of this odd scene. Is it comic relief? If so, then I really don't think comic relief is appropriate for this serious drama. But, it may not be intended to be humorous, just an attempt to show how some people really are that insane, and since his character was frighteningly similar to Terry Nichols in Bowling for Columbine, I can attest that people that mad really do exist.

Though some things are unclear, I got two interrelated messages from viewing this movie-people simply don't pay enough attention to one another and are too self-absorbed to see each other's suffering, and some people may not be equipped to handle the responsibilities and stresses of everyday life that others may find less challenging. I was impressed with the acting, particularly from Michael Hayden, who received the Best Actor Award at the AFI/LA Film Festival for his work, and from Adam Tanguay, who was convincing as the ten-year-old Billy and, in my opinion, exhibited noteworthy talent for such a young person. Also, Sally Murphy, Anthony Mockus Sr., Chelcie Ross, and Oksana Fedunyszyn gave pleasing performances. I also thought the Robin Wittkopf did a great job with the costume design (the outfit for Billy on the tower and the vest for the woman in the first scene were just perfect) and David Barkley did a great job with the music (that song at the beginning worked very well). I liked the scene at the end with the laundry lady, when Billy reflects on how things were so much whiter back then. He did like things clean. Regardless of the flaws, this movie was worth the time. Don't let my less-than-sterling analysis prevent you from checking out this independent film if you're interested in the subject matter or just in this genre in general.

Rating:
Summary: CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE?
Review: CHARMING BILLY is certainly a dark movie, but then again it's story is dark. We meet a handsome young man named Billy Starkman, who as we know from the start is going to end up on a water tower shooting innocent people. The why is etched out in scenarios showing the probable cause for Billy's breakdown. Early in his life, he seriously felt he scared a neighborly laundry lady to death; his father told him about his own suicide thoughts. As a man, he is faced with working two nowhere jobs in order to support his wife, who tells him she is pregnant. His parents are distant, self-centered people; only his grandfather brings Billy any sense of joy. The problem with the film is that even though we can understand and sympathize with Billy's plight, there's never a moment when we see anything so devastating that would make him crack (aside from a strange scene at the family's Easter dinner where we see Billy continuously banging his head on the table while the rest of the family blabbers on around him). Sure, Billy has problems but what is it about him that makes him take such a desperate act to rectify them? The script doesn't point us in that direction at all. Michael Hayden as Billy does a wonderful job in his role, parlaying his natural charm and descending madness into a tour de force performance. This independent film may have had more impact had we been shown a clearer path to Billy's fall.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Independent Film
Review: This independent, art-house film saw limited release in 1999-2000, but is not to be missed. It contains a powerful mix of tension, pathos, and social despair, as the lead character, Billy - a good person with too much stress from too many everyday problems, slowly succumbs to the difficulties of life. While not an easy film to watch, which is certainly why it missed the big theatres, it is an excellent film that achieves all it strives for, and is recommended to all fans of the independent genre.

Rating:
Summary: Emotionally driven, with a heart stopping reality punch
Review: This movie is excellent. It shows a true to life portrayal of what can happen to a man that is pushed to the edge. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys independent films and that wishes to see a film that doesn't hold anything back when it comes to showing a how the stress of life can push a man to commit the unthinkable.