"It's a pure fable even though it's disguised in this kind of hyper-realistic intense drama... It's about becoming capable of love." - Vincent Gallo, Jr. 

Bold, disquieting and heartfelt, "Buffalo '66" is an awesome directorial debut from small time actor Vincent Gallo, Jr. Subjecting us, as well as his main character, Billy Brown (played by himself), to the disturbing situation of visiting his parents after being released from jail, we can not possibly be prepared for the freakshow which awaits us. Myopic, abusive and neglectful, his parents represent the worst of American family dysfunction. 

To help quiet these awful parental units, Gallo's Brown tells them he's married and will bring his wife with him. To accomplish this he kidnaps the nubile and scantily clad Christina Ricci. How this is accomplished is made wonderfully simplistic by Gallo's script. It just happens before we even expect it, even though we know it is coming. But what happens within the dynamic of this twosome, something not simplistic, is awe inspiring. After the tremendously ridiculous insanity that occurs at Brown's parents house, the two form a sort of bond.

Now, this all sounds simple and maybe even a little typical, but in Gallo's hands it becomes mythic. His film style and low budget sensibilities help make the film look masterful. Gallo never takes the easy way out. His shots are always interesting and unique. How he shoots the 4 some of the parents, with Billy and Ricci's Layla, around the dinner table seems ground-breaking in his and cinematographer Lance Acord's hands. Another awesome sequence has Gallo on the phone in his parent's bedroom, Gallo's head floats discombobulated in the lower left corner for most of the shot only to spring forward towards the camera when he rises as he invariably gets excited during his dialogue. And the first finale of the piece, which has violence at it's core, shows us a typical film situation in a new and troubling way. The special effects in this sequence are ground-breaking.

Yet with all of this, it is the performances here that really make the piece come to life. Gallo and his cohorts behind the camera make it visually stimulating, but the actors make it an emotional rodeo. As Billy's parents, Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara provide the piece with the disquieting sensationalism it requires. While Huston is an amazingly loud yet obtuse presence, Gazzara furthers this with his father-figure gone to suburban squaller hell. His performance where he lip-sings (to a Vincent Gallo Sr. song!) for Ricci in a bedroom is (David) Lynchian and surreal. These two veteran thespians take dysfunctionality to a disturbing new place that we just have not seen before in American films. It is too quiet and too seemingly harmless to be simply cinematic or "black comedy" yet too harrowing and too obviously harmful to be simply dramatic. It touches us for some reason. The simplicity of the abuse here is what makes it so unsettling. 

Meanwhile, Gallo and Ricci sit through this reunion with Gallo's obvious wounds reopening while Ricci seems oblivious to the entire enormity of the situation. Oddly, her youthful appearance is never discussed here though she claims to be 28. We wonder if she is even old enough to understand what is being put on display in her skimpy outfit here. Later, she plays ingenue to Gallo's withdrawn victim with startling sincerity.

Gallo is so adept at portraying his abused and mistreated character that it troubles us deeply. His intimate scenes with Ricci, where he insists she not touch him or look at him - and even calls her evil when she broaches the subject of sex, seems a troubling offshoot of his childhood abuse. It makes us wonder what happened in his household when he was younger that we don't know about now. 

Gallo ends the film with a technique that is a little bothersome, a bit of a cop-out. Suffice it to say he has his cake and eats it too. Still, the places he goes here are quite interesting. And after the tremendous film we have witnessed, it is easy to allow him this one device. When one thinks it through, it seems he really has no other choice but to do this. And this scattered ending is handled with such interesting finesse that we can't help but enjoy watching it, even if it is a bit of a letdown.

Also in the film are Mickey Rourke as a bookie; Kevin Corrigan as Goon, Billy's supposed best friend; Roseanna Arquette as Gallo's former crush; and Jan-Michael Vincent, who appears to be ill, as the owner of a bowling alley. It is in this setting where the most sublime moment occurs: Gallo has kidnapped Ricci as she exits a dance studio and she wears tap shoes throughout the film. While Gallo bowls strike after strike in the alley, Ricci moves aside for a fantasy interlude. The lights dim and a single spot highlights her frame as she slowly begins a tap dance, in her wondrous blue outfit, to a mellow rock song. It is extraordinary. Here, in the spotlight, with the slow song playing, the tap-dancing Ricci seems a savior, an angel, the only chance of survival our scarred protagonist will have.

Notes: In addition to directing and acting, Gallo also wrote the story, co-wrote the script, and composed the music. The script was written with Allison Bagnall.

Pop songs by Vincent Gallo Sr., as mentioned above, as well as King Crimson and Yes. Frank Sinatra is mentioned and an album cover of Nelson Riddle is shown.

O.J. Simpson is mentioned as is Scott Glenn (is he fictional?). The Buffalo Bills are central to the plot. The title refers to the football team's 1966 season.

Filmed in Buffalo, New York, Gallo's hometown. The house of the parents is actually a house Gallo lived in as a youth. 

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