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Movie Review: Buffalo '66 (Gallo)

Sometimes a movie is not as good as it thinks it is. This is one of those movies.

The movie tells the story of a man, Billy Brown, just out of prison who kidnaps a girl from a dance class )played by Christina Ricci, who is as cute as ever but doesn't really get to do much here besides gaze at Mr. Gallo) and uses her to try to convince his parents he is leading a succesful life before he goes to kill the man who he feels caused all his problems, former Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Woods. For no reason I can tell, the girl falls for the guy, and we seem to be told this is a good thing since it helps turn him around. The main character, who is also played by Gallo, who also wrote and directed, is completely unlikable to me, and I think we are supposed to use his uncaring parents as an excuse for his bad behavior, but I don't buy it.

The movie itself feels a little too experimental and not very cohesive. Some unneeded split screens and rough cuts and a few flashbacks thrown in here and there - all done OK, I guess, considered alone, but not really flowing into the movie well. The pacing seems off, too deliberate at times and disjointed in others.

My favorite scene was Billy in the donut shop at the end of the movie, but it didn't seem like it fit into what we had seen to that point. I know what I am supposed to think happened, but I didn't feel like they sold it to me. And if the ending doesn't come together, the movie as a whole feels even worse.