Bully - Region 2 DVD

Though there's an air of moral condemnation hanging over the film, Clark avoids any obvious "society's to blame" angles. His killers are from middle-class homes, not noticeably deprived, and their parents (one of them played by Clark himself) are well-meaning if helplessly unaware of what their kids are up to. Maybe the rap music on the soundtrack--such as the Ghetto Inmates' "Thug Ass Bitch"--gives some clue, but essentially Clark seems to be suggesting that these kids are morally bankrupt because that's just how they are these days. Bully is well shot and well acted, and there's a dark humour to be savoured--especially in the farcically inept murder scene--but in the long run it's a dispiriting experience. –-Philip Kemp