Billy the Kid

I just watched a very sweet, fascinating, intimate documentary. Billy the Kid, directed by Jennifer Venditti follows a fifteen year old boy over the course of a few weeks (I think). Billy is a social outcast in his high school, and he has a very earnest, odd manner that is endearing in this complex way.

The filmmaker zeros in on him, and it becomes this wonderful window into a very special vulnerable soul. Billy has something "wrong" with him. He is an odd kid. In the interview with the director on the DVD -- which is very much worth watching -- it emerges that he has Aspergers. But the director didn't want to label him, she wanted the viewer to experience him and experience his viewpoint. This was a great choice, because it removes an intrusive and facile clinical perspective and instead opens up the story-telling and exploration of character.

Billy the Kid kind of centers on an awkward romantic narrative, where Billy gets his first girlfriend. It's very tender, and silly, and just kind of amazing to watch. His relationship with his mother is also very touching. He asks her these straight-forward honest questions, like : "why is it when I'm attracted to her my heart beats like it's about to burst?"