A haunting and discomfiting documentary portrait, “Billy the Kid” focuses on a 15-year-old boy in a small Maine town. But not just any boy.
Billy is aware that there’s something different about his brain, although nobody in the movie itself actually puts a name to it. In reading about the movie, one learns that after filming was completed he was finally diagnosed with Asberger’s Syndrome, a condition related to or similar to high-functioning autism.
Director Jennifer Venditti follows Billy around his town, observing his awkward interactions with other kids and his closeness to his mother (who was abused by Billy’s father but now has a new husband).
In particular, Billy summons up the courage to ask a girl from a local diner to be his girlfriend, although they’ve never been on much of a date. He has long dreamed of a girlfriend, and in fact he has elaborate fantasies of defending women, a kind of Sir Galahad waiting for his chance.
Billy is articulate and extremely talkative, and he doesn’t have a filter that could prevent him from blurting out anything he might be thinking. He also doesn’t pick up on social cues from other kids. He comes across as an out-of-tune instrument bashing along in a different rhythm from the other musicians.
As a case study, “Billy the Kid” is completely absorbing. Billy seems to be reciting lines of dialogue he’s heard somewhere else, but in an almost mechanical way. And yet he clearly feels his frustrations and disappointments deeply.
Venditti captures this life with obvious sympathy. “Billy the Kid” will certainly become required viewing for anybody interested in the subject; one could almost imagine the film being shown in medical schools as a diagnostic tool.
Maybe that’s why it’s also uncomfortable to watch. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Venditti’s camera might be goading Billy into doing things he wouldn’t ordinarily have done, or feeling shame about his failures. It’s also impossible not to wonder what Billy will think when he sees the film, or how it might affect his world. These are the issues of many documentaries, but this one feels more personal than most.
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