By David Combest

December 5, 2012

When winter break arrives you will finally be able to take a break from studying and watch some movies. I suggest the film Buffalo ’66.

The movie starts when Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) is released from a five-year jail sentence for a bet he could not repay. The $10,000 Super Bowl game that Billy bet on was lost by kicker Scott Woods. Now Billy is on a mission to murder Wood but first he wants to impress his parents (Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara), who could care less about him.

Billy kidnaps a tap dancer named Laya (Christina Ricci) and tells her to pretend she is the wife he told his parents he had. Laya is clearly interested in Billy from the start and lets herself be “kidnapped” by him.

This comedic drama works well on many different levels. The well-written story has an organic plot that shows personal growth without making it over the top. The mixture between comedy and drama is very well done and makes the characters’ emotions relatable. The framing of the shots in the film are amazing and there is a strong usage of mise en scène, better known as visual theme. The cast members are excellent and make the movie come alive.

Gallo does a wonderful job as this film’s writer, director and actor. It is a semi-autobiographic piece since it mixes in a little bit of his home life growing up in Buffalo. Though the film is great any time of year, winter is a fun season to watch it because it is set in snowy New York. This film would be perfect to watch on a snowy afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea. I encourage you to watch this movie and follow

Billy’s journey as he seeks revenge and deals with a life that seems to be in ruins.