Sticks and Stones

Bully is painful to watch. The emotionally–charged documentary follows a group of adolescents who are abused by their peers and unaided by adults. Their struggles are heartbreaking. The apathy they encounter is shocking. Bus–riding students disregard pencil–stabbings, strangling and brutal death threats while assistant principals (who might seem comedic if not for the gravity of their inaction) safeguard their consciences with sunny oblivion. Bully‘s footage is unflinchingly real and succeeds in evoking our empathy, and possibly, our guilt. Bully’s new PG–13 rating gives it access to its target audience, and might, with luck, lead younger viewers to grant new hope to today’s silent victims.

4/5 Stars