Buffalo '66

buffalo 66 is a lot like its creator, vincent gallo: harsh, unkempt, dangerous looking,a sure bet to be a miserable loser. at first glance this film seems to have nothing going for it, but give it ten minutes and then see if you can turn away. a dissection of a loose circling collection of emotional misfits, Vincent Gallo's creation (he wrote, directed, starred in the thing and even wrote the original music for the film) of billy brown, his parents and Layla, the girl who comes to love him is an amazing thing. what at first sounds like annoyingly fake bravado soon reveals the tormented souls beneath. again and again the film confounds expectations morphing into one of the most moving and convincing portraits of love and redemption imaginable. a justly deserving winner of its numerous art film awards (especially those earned by former child actress christina ricci in a devastated angel performance)buffalo 66 earns all the risks it takes and reminds us that even the worst first impressions can sometimes be wrong

Vincent Gallo's has supplied us with more than just a powerful character driven pic with the touching "Buffalo '66". Somehow he has managed to provide a much needed counterpoint to another recent noteworthy effort, "Good Will Hunting".

Instead of a pouting GQ-genius we get a main character much more common to everyday life. A simple loser trying to claw his way out of a hole that he never meant to dig for himself. A victim of circumstance who not only dosen't but couldn't know any better. It's a simple tale of desparation and lonliness that never shies away from cutting all the way down to the bone.

Billy Brown is revolting. Greasy, unmannered, and fresh from jail, the viewer is given no reason at all to care about him. He kidnaps Layla (Ricci) in an effort to maintain the machinery of lies that he has constructed to keep his nebulus parents unaware of his time in jail.

It becomes clear that she falls for him after meeting his parents and other major players in his life. Billy didn't just get the short end of the stick, he never even had a chance. At this point you are forced to ask why, instead of trying to connect with him, she isn't running for her life from this apparent maniac. But on closer examination you realize that you are also sticking around. Not simply to see what happens but to make sure that Billy turns out OK.

Gallo want's to make it clear that Billy was warped from the outside in. From the day of his birth he was hated by his psychotic mother, played brilliantly by Anjelica Houston, because her going into labor prevented her from watching the "Big Game" in which her favorite team triumphed in the 1966 Superbowl. And it was another pivotal Bills game that doomed Billy Brown and sent him to jail for 5 years just as he entered adulthood. A stark contrast to the scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Damon and Williams charachters recount the famous Boston Red Sox victory and thereby establish a deeper connection on the road to that protagonist's healing.

The road to Billy's wellness will have to be found elsewhere and with little help from anyone at all. He is forced to configure his own compass to guide him to the next step in his life and although it isn't pretty the result is far more belivable than "Good Will".

Gallo used his microscopic budget well especially in the flashback and dream sequences. This work resonates with some of John Cassavetes' tradmark overtones without exploiting them. And I'm not just talking about the presence of Ben Gazzara.

You can feel the cold of Buffalo seeping through every crack inside a given scene. You can also sense that the actors were given plenty of latitude to construct their charachters but we're directed with a special urgency. The end result enables the viewer to be propelled through the film instead of mearly left to watch it unfold before them.

The screenplay delves into territory where Tarantino and his like fear to tread. A style of film making that depends more on raw performance than on well laid plans and clever constructs. Gallo chose his team well and trusted them to win it for him and they came through brilliantly.

*** out of **** stars

The only sequence of Buffalo '66 that warmed my heart with thankful relief from almost two hours of wondering why the main character - Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo)- would make such unorthodox decisions against the obvious, right decisions, was during the last five minutes (approx.) of the film. What a pay off! What a tension breaking five minutes it was! I felt I could breathe easy after happily discovering that Billy is a man that can make loving, almost predictable and sane decisions after all, and all because of Layla (Christina Ricci), the new angel in his life, who he haphazardly "kidnapped" in a dance studio; who he finally realizes is his savior. We never find out much about Layla, if anything at all. Where does she come from and why is she the way she is? Why does she see a loving light in despicable Billy? Why doesn't she leave him, after so much verbal abuse and selfishness? I believe the reason she doesn't is because director, writer, composer and actor Gallo understands that in most scripts out of cliché Hollywood, she WOULD leave Billy. And then what kind of movie would we have? One that we've seen time and time again. The decisions that the characters make in Buffalo '66's entire time frame are the antithesis of conventionalism.

What makes Billy Brown tick is strenuously simple, but only after a fair amount of contemplation after spending time with him: his parents, played by Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston, have systematically not given their son an ounce of validation of pride or yes, love, for his entire life, spent in frigid Buffalo, New York. Billy has spent his whole life excessively fabricating his importance in hope to gain that validation, but never with any success. Whether biological parents can demonstrate such intense apathy and coldness toward their own flesh and blood, as seen in this movie, is up for debate. But if they were able to be so callously and blindly bold, the bitter and sad result of such a man as Billy seems plausible. Gallo's skillful acting ability in his role floors me, because we actually somehow care for Billy. And why should we? Because through his sin we envision humanness that, I believe, we can all relate to: the errors we make; the lack of self-worth we may feel; loneliness; rejection; and the pain that is inflicted upon us from those who are supposed to unconditionally love us the most. Ricci's astounding performance, which I believe carries the most improvisation of any character in the film, brilliantly sheds the most light on the movie's message, which is: when someone cares about you more than themselves, it can truly change you for the better, no matter how much emotional baggage you may have. If we all had a Layla in our lives, psychiatrists would go into extinction.

This movie is pure art, plain and simple. Even if the movie might not be to your taste (a lot of people don't like this film at all, and they find it boring and meaningless). Hopefully one can agree it is really nice to know that there was once a time and place when American Independent Cinema really had a heart and soul and it is in full exhibition here. Classification avant-garde.

Vincent Gallo wrote the story and screen play, directed the film, and was the main star. Vincent Gallo fresh out of a five-year prison stint who really needs to take a leak but can't find a bathroom anywhere.

Easily one of the best contemporary actresses ever, Christina Ricci (who plays Layla), enters and is literally kidnapped by Vincent's character. This happens realistically, with a dark sense of humor-- (in a building where he almost finds a toilet), brings her to his family and poses her as his wife. We then get a wonderful half-hour of the biggest generation gap in history in which Gallo, Ricci and his parents, Angelica Huston and Ben Gazzara, have the most complicated anti-bonding dinner in history.

This indie gem is downright brilliant with wonderful imagery, antique film stock, strategically placed camera-angles and split screens that all work to embody the dreamlike... or rather... nightmarish quality. Also, needing to be mentioned it the soundtrack of this movie which personally I believe to be among the best, featuring original music from writer, director and star Vincent Gallo as well as prog-rock artists like Yes and King Crimson. Buffalo '66 is an exceptional film IMO.



Interesting cinematography note: Buffalo '66 was shot on a Reversal stock that the NFL used to use to film games back in the 1970s. It was out of production and Gallo's production gathered all they could to shoot the film and give it it's gorgeous wintery palette.

In real life : Ricci and Gallo did not fancy one another.

Model, actor-director and sometimes singer Vincent Gallo has a very good memory ... and very, very loose lips to match. Gallo, who wrote, directed and starred in the darling indie film "Buffalo 66" in 1998, has reportedly talked smack about Christina Ricci, his co-star in the film, to a New York Post Page Six columnist, according to a Mr. Showbiz report.

Gallo: "It was OK when she wasn't drunk on the set. I think she's an alcoholic -- it was either that, or she was on cough syrup the whole time," Gallo allegedly said about Ricci.

Hold on, it gets better/worse .

"I don't like her," Gallo reportedly blabbered on. "She's an ungrateful c***. But it was OK. She's basically a puppet. I told her what to do, and she did it."

And better/worse.

"She lost 17 pounds, and that was because I only let her eat one whole pizza pie every day," he said.

And this was Ricci's response in an interview from 2007 (questions bolded this time):

Quote: It's ten years since you made 'Buffalo 66' with Vincent Gallo.

I was seventeen, yeah. It was my first movie away without my mother. Not a wise choice. I really didn't understand what was going on most of the time working with a crazy lunatic man. I'd never encountered such insanity.

He said some nice things about your weight.

Oh yes, I've been there. Horrible things. He waited three or four years and then decided to make fun of my weight at the time that we were shooting 'Buffalo 66'. He waited that long to make fun of a seventeen-year-old. It's so bizarre, and I hadn't seen him in years, I hadn't done anything to him. It was just like: okay, a. s . s hole.

Did you get on with him when making the film?

No, not really. He's one of those people who sometimes he's so nice to you and then the next he imagines that you've done something horrible and he'll start screaming at you. It's difficult to get on well with someone like that.

Did you see his next film, 'The Brown Bunny'? Oh, I didn't see it. I have no interest in seeing anything he ever does again.

Never even heard of Gallo: just happened onto this film on IFC one night and totally loved it. The acting was superb, the story even more so; and that camera work! Gallo's character, Billy Brown, was a picture of hate and resentment due to his unfeeling, unloving parents who made it clear from day one that he wasn't wanted, much less loved. This pushing away by these heartless, empty people turned young Billy into a introvert who was only able to find love within the confines of his own dreamy mind. Of course, this was insufficient which drove Billy to acting out in some bizarre and dangerous ways. Finally, when love does come it terrifies him and causes him to push away this affection continuing the cycle started by his parents. At times I found myself rocking with laughter at the antics of these hurting and emotionally scarred folks, but the tale was anything but comical. I wish there were more pictures coming out as interesting and dramatic as this.