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Charming Billy | Year: 1999 Classification: Drama Directed: - William R. Pace "All of us have a tower to climb" 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 s Excellent Independent Film 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. Emotionally driven, with a heart stopping reality punch 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. Buy Charming Billy at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Charming Billy Search with the Priority Search Engine on Charming Billy This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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