Bad Boy Bubby

Bubby is 35 years old. For those 35 years he has never left the windowless room he calls home. Through brainwashing, manipulation and abuse his mother, Florence, has kept him there. After an unexpected event spirals Bubby's life out of control, he escapes into the world for the very first time.

STORY/PLOT

The first thirty minutes of this film is extremely dark. The subject matter and general atmosphere is highly disturbing. It has to be one of the most bizarre, deprived and uncomfortable yet sad and if you get dark comedy, hilarious openings to a film in cinema history. There is no opening title sequence or introduction, you are just thrown into this strangely bleak scene with no context until piece by piece you get this horrid picture of what is actually happening, and it hits hard. Very powerful film making, but despite the crazy beginning Bad Boy Bubby transpires to be a grand feel good Forrest Gump like adventure that explores many serious subjects. It's a journey of discovery, mental health, individuality, morality, overcoming adversity and overall that love can heal almost anything. Bubby meets many different people and experiences many different things, some great and some horrific on his path to find his place in this world, and it's as strange as it is incredible.

ACTING/CHARACTERS

Generally the acting is good and the characters are interesting all round. Claire Benito as Bubby's mother is one that stands out, it's a very brave role for any actress to take on and she does a great job, but ultimately this is Bubby's story and Nicholas Hope, the actor who portrays him, is incredible. It's grandmaster, award nominee tier stuff and from what I can gather, he hadn't really acted before this role. To take such a difficult and obscure role and play it so impeccably with so little previous big screen experience is phenomenal. The facial expressions and body language, the innocence and childlike wonder mixed with his physical appearance is so believable and so fitting to Nicholas himself that I can't imagine any other actor coming anywhere near close to replicating the performance. It's a very rare thing.

Then there's the character of Bubby himself. Bubby is an extremely loveable character. He does some awful and unacceptable things, but you can't help but like him and feel bad for him because he doesnt understand, he was never educated about anything his mother didn't need him to be. However throughout his journey you get to see his character develop as he begins to understand right from wrong, find enjoyment in experiencing things for the first time, things we take for granted like music and pizza and ultimately integrating into society and becoming his own person. Bubby is a character I will never forget.

CINEMATOGRAPHY/VISUALS

Director Rolf De Heer had the idea of getting a different photography director for every different place Bubby went to. His reasoning for this was so that every new location would feel different and fresh, just like Bubby would feel experiencing everything for the first time. Some scenes are claustrophobic and depressing, some are beautiful and full of colour, and a lot of it can feel surreal and strange. It's a genius idea that takes this movie to the next level in allowing the viewer to feel for the protagonist on a more personal level and sets it apart from other movies.

SOUNDTRACK/AUDIO

So music is something that Bubby discovers and finds that he adores and so music plays a big part of this movie. The majority of the music is in the movie itself as opposed to a track playing over the scenes as they happen. There's a mix of different genres and styles Bubby discovers and music being implemented like this is yet another way this movie feels much more personal, like you are discovering it all with him. Bubby ultimately becoming the lead in a band towards the end, becoming a hit with his raw, improvised performances reciting some of the shocking things he's heard and experienced was also a brilliant touch, feeling like everything had come full circle and Bubby had finally found his place and conquered his trauma through the love of something he had discovered.

De Heer also had another genius idea though. He captured the sound using binaural microphones placed in Nicholas Hope's ears. This way it created an immersive experience of the world, hearing it just as Bubby does. It amplified the sound of whatever Bubby was listening to, and if Bubby felt over stimulated and overwhelmed, you as the viewer felt it to.

OVERALL

Bad Boy Bubby is unlike any film I have ever seen. The brutal rawness, absolutely bizarre surreal tone and atmosphere, hilarious dark comedy, incredible acting and character development of Bubby and the groundbreaking, genius ideas implemented in cinematography and sound design all coming together in a shocking yet deep and triumphant story of a man succeeding at finding happiness and success despite such adversity and unimaginable hardship delivers one of the most unique and memorable movies I have ever seen. While not everyone will like Bad Boy Bubby, and a lot probably won't make through the first twenty minutes or so, I highly recommend that they try, because if this film connects with you it's likely to be a movie you will never forget.