Buffalo 66
Horror stories from the set and Hollywood go hand in hand since Hitchcock attached Tippi Hendron to a bunch of wild birds and went “act.” Many directors have been known for treating their cast like puppets, tossing them on the shelf and saying they are shit so no other overgrown child will play with them ever again. Kubrick, Allen and Lars Von Trier have all succumbed to their tyrant beast side that wants their vision to be exactly how they want it. But Vincent Callo took his mouthy attitude so far that acclaimed actresses Christina Ricci and Angelica Housten vowed never to work with him ever again. Yet that smug annoying smart mouth helped shaped one hell of a visually captivating cult classic.
Writing, directing and starring in the film himself, Buffalo 66 revolves around felon Billy Brown, who has served five years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Lying to his parents about where he was and now having to see them with a supposed wife in toe, Billy kidnaps ballet dancer Layla and forces her to pretend to be her wife. Though the scared at first, Layla finds herself attracted to him as Billy struggles to get back into his old life. At the same time, he is on a mission to get revenge for the man who framed him.
It is one film inundated with some stirring and quite unique imagery. Sliding in memories like a cheap homemade video and freeze framing the actors gives Buffalo 66 a flare. It’s not exactly powerful, feeling more as though Gallo was inspired by modern art and nobody stopped him which isn’t a terrible thing. It’s evocative though, giving the film this drenched tone of art house that is both creative and beautiful to look at. At some points, Gallo uses the imagery to enhance the story, especially delving into Billy’s deep unconscious and it’s captivating to watch.
The acting here is stellar too as they tackle themes of inactive yet abusive childhood and a man child who hasn’t adapted to anything bar his own frustrations. Gallo is clearly adept at performing this because he is basically playing an irritable version of himself (or the true version that is, in fact, irritating.) Though he may start to grate after a while, genuinely towards the end, his character begins to shimmer with this humanistic moments. It’s really Ricci who excels here though, giving Layla a complex attraction with her naturalistic charisma and innocence that decays around Billy’s act. Helping him battle against his parents, Layla is a gentle and determined character that Ricci deftly handles.
It’s such a shame that Gallo treated her, the unstoppable Housten and everyone else with such contempt that he has been scorned into obscurity. It’s a shame his ego here overshadows a lot of ingenuity that it becomes almost irritating rather than a bizarre love story that teeters on its graphics, metaphors and heart. But Buffalo 66 is still an incredible film to watch that battles against the norm.