Review of Dirty Little Billy

I haven't seen this film for some years, but it made quite an impression. My memory of the plot is sketchy, but I remember a pungent sense of place and the black humour of re-presenting an outlaw hero as a dysfunctional teenager. Michael J Pollard was "hot" in my mind due to his showing in Hannibal Brooks. He certainly went for broke with his portrayal of Billy as a bumbling and baffled (retarded, even?) teen in a Wild West that is knee-deep in mud and horse-muck. The pistols Billy wielded seemed almost too big for him, huge, clumsy and old-fashioned. Certainly as a impressionable British youngster, I'd never seen anything like it before.

I'm more than pleased to encourage others to seek it out. It could well be a bit of a hidden gem - the flavour and satirical energy of the piece are surely in tune with today's tastes.