Buffalo '66

Written, directed, starring, and scored by Vincent Gallo, Buffalo '66 tells the story of Billy, a volatile man-child you cannot communicate his real feelings, and may not have any at all. The film has the same problem, but has such an intense no-wave energy that it sucks you in anyway. Considering the plot revolves around kidnapping and stockholm syndrome, this emotional dichotomy is nearly fitting.

The film opens with Billy, portrayed by the exhausted-looking, animalistic Vincent Gallo, getting out of jail. He needs to take a piss and spends the next few minutes wondering around a dilapidated, grey-scale New York looking for a place.

He ends up in an aerobics class. He borrows a quarter from Layla, played with sensuality and studiousness by Christina Ricci, and calls his mother to lie about his good fortune. It's the first hint we get towards Billy's complicated relationship with his parents. 

He then kidnaps Layla and forces her to masquerade as his wife.

They go to Billy's parents house, where the comedy, and the surreality, kicks in. Billy's parents (Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara) are obsessive Buffalo Bill fans who know next to nothing about their son. His mother even admits that she wishes she never had Billy because giving girth made her miss the '66 superbowl. Billy's dad takes Layla into another room to "sing" for her. Instead he lip-syncs to a record, in a surreal scene that reminded me a lot of the more out-of-your-head moments from Trainspotting. 

 We learn that Billy had bet $10,000 on the Bills to win the super bowl, lost, and had to go to jail in order to appease his creditor, played by Mickey Rourke in one pugilistic, vicious scene.

Meanwhile, Layla does a pretty good job of winning over the parents. Billy takes her to a bowling alley. It turns out Billy is good at bowling, probably the only thing he's good at and the only thing that makes him visibly content. The lights go down, and Layla does a little surreal slow tap. It's sweet and a little bit creepy. Billy considers killing the guy who ruined his $10,000 bet, but decides to entertain the idea of Layla becoming his girlfriend. The movie ends on that hopeful note.

Layla is a standout character. Very little information is given about her life and her feelings are never defined. She could actually being into Vincent, or she could just be trying to avoid his wrath. It adds another level of uncomfortable to a film already wrought with it.

Billy is just as interesting, a low-rent Travis Bickle in ill-fitting clothes that doesn't like to be touched but wants to be held.

This movie is vague, cold, and surreal, but I didn't want it to end.