By Steven Loeb
The belief that any person's life will inherently make a good story is a common misconception in amateur documentaries. While this practice does have its strong points, it can also be a hollow form of filmmaking. Oftentimes, it becomes frustrating when the filmmaker will not take a stand, make a point and explain to the viewer why this particular story needed to be told. It is not enough just to tell it: The filmmaker needs to show why audiences are investing their time in this person's life.
"Billy the Kid" suffers from this problem, but that isn't to say there are not strong elements in this movie that make it worth watching.
The biggest strength of Jennifer Venditti's directorial debut is also the film's biggest weakness. Billy is a kid like any other, although he seems to have more trouble in social situations than other teenagers would. He struggles to fit in and socialize with other kids his age, even while being bullied at the cafeteria table. He develops a crush on a girl, attempts to woo her and stumbles along the way. While watching the film, Billy becomes almost instantly relatable to viewers, who can see at least part of themselves in him or know someone like him. The problem with the film is, besides showing the most cringingly awkward teenager one would ever not want to encounter, there really isn't anything all that special about Billy or his story.
The narrative involves Billy's crush on a girl who works at a local diner. His interactions with the girl, Heather, give this film a heart not often found in movies these days. Heather also suffers from a disability and, before he introduces himself to her, Billy meets with her two brothers, who tell him she has endured relentless teasing because of her condition. As soon as Billy hears this, we know exactly what he is thinking: He might finally have found a girl who can understand him. He recounts a story from a few years before, where he "declared his love" to for a cheerleader, only to be humiliated in front of the whole school when she shot him down. In Heather, it seems, Billy might have found a girl who knows his pain and will not break his heart.
The most important parts in this movie are the small glances, the awkward silences and the moments where words of sincere truth and honesty come out of Billy's mouth in such a way that it breaks a viewer's heart to see that someone could be so straightforward and earnest. Billy does not know exactly what to say to people yet; he makes mistakes. But they are the same ones the audience members have made themselves. This is a movie about being a teenager and all the struggles, heartache and triumph that come with it.