Buffalo '66 - A tragic story of love, football, and murder

Buffalo '66 gives a dark portrayal of the sad, mundane existence that comes with living in an uneventful city. It is brilliantly put together by Vincent Gallo, the movie's writer, director, and main actor.

Billy Brown (Gallo) is back from his CIA government job and is coming back to visit his parents to show off his new bride. The trouble is he doesn't work for the CIA and he isn't married. It's actually his first day out of prison and his fake wife is a tap-dancer named Layla (Christina Ricci) that he kidnapped. All he wants is some appreciation from his unloving parents, and to get back at Scott Wood, the Buffalo Bills kicker who missed a field goal in a game he was betting on and consequently made him spend 5 years in prison.

As Billy's murderous mission unravels we see the very core of a man's pain and abundance of emotion. It is the greatest character study since Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. However strange it might look at first glance (and the first 15 minutes of the movie is just a guy trying to find a bathroom to use) the movie is extremely gripping, and will in some way cause you to have feelings for the characters on the screen.

One great aspect to the film is the amusing dialogue. For instance when Billy kidnaps Layla and informs her that she'll have to put on a show as his wife, he says, "If you make me look bad... I will never ever talk to you again." A line like that pretty much goes down in film history as the most bizarre threat a kidnapper has ever said to his captive.

Billy's parents are played devilishly well by Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston. They're so evil and uncaring for their own son that you don't have to wonder why the Billy character has so many problems. In the movie his mother holds a grudge against him because his birth made her miss a Buffalo Bills game. She loves the Bills so much she even declares, "I wish I never had him."

Every frame of the film is dark, and wonderful photography. Gallo certainly delivers great cinematography in his debut. In particular the climactic scene near the close of the film wherein he enters a strip-club to find the former Buffalo-Bill Scott Wood, it is without a doubt some of the most interesting camera-work I've ever seen.

The movie may confuse you, it may disturb you, it may make you cry, it may cause you to laugh hysterically, in my case it made me hate the Buffalo Bills, but it will certainly hold your interest and leave an impression on you afterwards. It is also one of my favorite romances and it has a very unexpected "cute" ending.

I would urge you to take a chance with Buffalo '66, as it is one of my favorite movies.