Billy the Kid

The story of an outsider making his way through high school, but it's hard not to see yourself in him at that age -- feeling awkward, finding solace in music, being totally confused about the future... I thought it was going to be the story of someone totally unlike me, but it didn't turn out that way. Hard to watch at times and the awkwardness totally makes you cringe, but in a good way. Definitely watch the follow-up extra feature on the DVD. Oh -- and I loved his mom!

I enjoyed the movie, but I struggled with the scene involving the message that Billy's mom leaves for the director, asking her not to include footage that would embarrass Billy. Footage that was culled from seriously traumatic moments for him. There was no need to include this, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Besides that, I loved the dynamic between Billy and his mom, and the director did a great job of fleshing that out. A documentary on Billy's mom would be pretty interesting, I'd bet.

Memorable, affecting

Is it just me or was that not one of the greatest documentaries ever made? So simple, so affective.

"Billy suggests Child is Waiting's autistic Rueben, only having been given a chance at a normal life by a mother who never succumbed to the shame that grips Gena Rowland's Sophie throughout Cassavetes's drama." - Ed Gonzalez