Since this documentary about various kids of various ages getting verbally or/and physically abused is now exclusively at the cinema that my movie theatre-working friend is employed at, I felt I had to watch it to see if it's as compelling as I heard it was. Well, it starts off with the revelation of a parent telling of his 17-year-old son who became isolated growing up before things were so bad he eventually committed suicide. We then follow other teens in various parts of the country suffering though their own hardships in trying to survive frequent tauntings. So the first hour was pretty compelling enough but then while many parents and school faculty express indignantly of the abuses, it seems hardly anything really gets done to stop it other then public assemblies on how awful bullying is. I'm not even sure if this movie is enough to stop anyone who hates anyone different from them from doing those tormenting. Still, Bully gets an A for making an effort to even address the serious problems arising whenever someone constantly feels worthless around people who do nothing but harass him/her.
Bully
2011
Action / Documentary
Bully
2011
Action / Documentary
85% - Critics
78% - Audience
7.3Keywords: based on true storybased on a true story1990sfloridabullying
Plot summary
This year, over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is the first feature documentary film to show how we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground. BULLY opens on the first day of school. For the more than 13 million kids who'll be bullied this year in the United States, it's a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown. For a lot of kids, the only thing that's certain is that this year, like every other, bullying will be a big part of whatever meets them at their school's front doors. Every school in the U.S. is grappling with bullying-each day more than 160,000 kids across the country are absent because they're afraid of being bullied-but for many districts it's just one more problem that gets swept under the rug. BULLY is a character-driven film. At its heart are those with the most at stake and whose stories each represent a different facet of this crisis. From the first day of school through the last, BULLY will intimately explore the lives of a few of the many courageous people bullying will touch this year.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
Bully is compelling in trying to address the tormenting various teens get but can't really offer real solutions to the epidemic
SCOTT FARGAS ALL OVER AGAIN
I have mixed feelings about this film and it certainly didn't move me to do anything. All the incidents take place in small town communities. The student base is small and any new kid or different kid gets bullied. In larger schools there are abundant students that there are enough kids that don't fit in, that they can form friendships among themselves.
In this film, all the kids that are bullied are different. They suffer from name calling and being ostracized. In some cases it is physical. The principal of the one school confronts the bullies and threatens to put a note in their permanent record if they don't stop. Now in my school, that wouldn't stop the bully. Indeed, you would have gotten your butt kicked for snitching.
I didn't see anything I didn't see, experience, or even dish out while growing up generations ago. It is a shame that nature has predisposed our species to be like all the other species in separating the weak elements out of the pack. But as I see it bullying is like cancer. It is natural. It is easier to prevent than cure. And too many times things don't work out. But has society become bigger bullies than when I was a kid? Or my grandparents? Or is the fact everyone owns a camera and films aspects of our life we wouldn't normally want filmed? There is no mention of the adolescent brain development which leads to undesirable traits.
My heart goes out for these kids, especially Fish Face. Growing up, I would sooner eat poop and get the crap beat out of me than to tell someone it happened. But to capture it on film and then complain to adults? They will all regret they made this stupid film as will everyone else who puts their stupidity on U-Tube for all to see. I would sooner take my chances by giving the bully a swift hard kick to the nads when he didn't expect it.
Because of the topic everyone will ooh and aah over how important it is to see this film. The most powerful and disturbing thing about this film are people who find it powerful and disturbing. It interlaces home movies with shot footage. So if you are a kid getting bullied, what you really need to make yourself fit in is to have a camera man, boom man, director and producer follow you around and film you on the school bus. That will rate a shot to the head. I didn't find it informative or moving. I went to school once myself. It is not just a red state Bible Belt issue like the film seems to imply in one episode. It's life. Deal with it.
Parental guide: F-bombs (spoken and written at beginning of film) no sex or nudity. If you let you kid see this, it will just give him ideas because that is how kids are.
Bully was well made but painful to watch.
If you are a caretaker of children in anyway I recommend this movie to you. I hope this director may consider doing a movie on corporal punishment in public schools in America. You come away from this movie thinking change could be simple but it is anything but. It takes a lot of support (Money) to create a noticeable change. Many of you may come away thinking, "how could that person be so ignorant". Beware, this movie is painful to watch. I wanted to jump out of my seat many times during this movie wanting to stop the insanity. You may want to write your congress as a place to start. I hope that you see it and I hope that you are educated by it.