“Don’t start trouble, don’t – don’t start evil. I didn’t say I’d give you a kiss, I said I’d go and get hot chocolate.”

I didn’t think I’d really have a lot to say so soon after last watching this movie but that line really leapt out at me for some reason. With that line, I think, Vincent Gallo lets us know just how messed up his character Billy Brown is. It makes what follows even more unbelievable and beautiful. This movie is about how much a little love could mean to some people. Billy is so close to crossing a line you can’t come back over – he’s so close that the first time you see this movie, you might even think for a horrifying moment that he crossed it – but ultimately he doesn’t cross it because somebody convinces him that she loves him. That’s why I love this movie so much, that’s all I wanted to add to what I wrote before, below.

3rd August 2005:

It’s too damn long since I’ve seen this one. I loved it when I saw it on the big screen, I watched it on Sky I think, I bought this DVD about 6 months ago and it’s just been sitting there. My plan was to wait till I had Vincent Gallo’s latest, The Brown Bunny, which I really didn’t like on the first viewing but I think (and I confirm now after this viewing of Buffalo) will work better if viewed directly after a more accessible Gallo.

There’s more invention in this movie than I can remember – I can’t believe that when I reviewed Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2 I was wowed by his switching aspect ratio mid-scene as if I’d never seen it done before. Gallo does the same thing here, 6 years before Tarantino, and it’s just as, if not more, effective. He also uses a great device of having his flashbacks (mostly in 4:3 ratio) “shrink back” visually into the head of the person having the flashback (mostly Gallo), a motif that makes the ending all the more stunning and surprising.

I’d forgotten that Anjelica Huston was in the movie, too. What a hysterical performance. I love how she flaps Christina Ricci away with her hand while watching the football as Ricci is telling her story about meeting Gallo. This is probably my favourite performance by Christina Ricci. She’s absolutely stunning and so subtle. Her little dancing scene in the bowling alley is one of the single most beautiful things in cinema.

Vincent Gallo doesn’t exactly have an appearance that invites pity and sympathy and “aww”s. His performance here, though – if you can get past the opening 5-10 minutes (which are a lot more scary than I’d remembered) – is wonderful, and I’d defy anyone to sit through this movie and not want to hug him. This movie was completely overlooked at most major awards ceremonies back in 1998-99 and it’s a major shame. I’m sure somebody here deserved something – Huston or Ricci for Supporting Actress, Gallo for Lead Actor, score, screenplay (how come Robert Rodriguez gets worshipped for doing everything on his movies when someone like Gallo does the same, even acts in it, makes something beautiful, and gets ignored?), even the editing and photography are fantastic. One of my all-time faves … scratch that, maybe my all-time fave.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 10th, 2005 at 2:44 am in 5 hearts, Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.