MovieChat Forums > Buffalo '66 (1998) Discussion > Why was he frigid ?

Why was he frigid ?

posted 9 years ago by roraio
4 replies | jump to latest

I've watched this film for the first time tonight and could not get my head around understanding the characters. First, we have a dancy blonde girl suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and falling for her kidnapper, and the virgin ex-convict who does not want to be touched and who is not at all aroused by the gorgeous and voluptuous 'victim'/love-interest. Can anyone explain to me why Billy was so frigid and cold towards Layla and did not pursue an intimate relationship with her, despite her interest in him? Was he raped in jail or something? (because there was a scene at the beginning of the film where Billy is shown in jail several times and crying in the shower) I mean, what heterosexual single man would not be attracted to Christina Ricci in this film? Even I thought she was very attractive, and I am a straight female. 

[–] Private-Witt 9 years ago

Billy clearly had a very emotionally detached and disconnected upbringing. He was also ostensibly misogynic, and had a low, hate-riddled conception of women (take a look at the cafe scene). The idea of letting go and being intimate with a girl discomforted him because he was clearly conditioned to live a very withdrawn, ostracised lifestyle, where he was always so downcast, so bitter, so angry, and so dejected. It was part of his overall depression. He was a damaged, lost soul, so one can not automatically expect him to embrace the love that he's found instantly.

And, besides, by the end, Billy does embrace his newfound happiness, and let's go of all his personal demons, insecurities, and anxieties. And it's beautiful to see.

Cinema can fill in the empty spaces of your life and your loneliness.

[–] bsharporflat 9 years ago

Can anyone explain to me why Billy was so frigid and cold towards Layla and did not pursue an intimate relationship with her, despite her interest in him? Was he raped in jail or something? (because there was a scene at the beginning of the film where Billy is shown in jail several times and crying in the shower)....I mean, what heterosexual single man would not be attracted to Christina Ricci in this film?

Who said he was "heterosexual"?

Perhaps he had been raped in prison. Perhaps he'd had a lot of consensual sex in there. Either way the whole sexual thing was obviously disturbing to him.

As someone else suggested, it probably started before prison (though prison must have made it much worse). His history with women (starting with his mother) was a very unhappy one.

As fantastic as Christina Ricci is in this movie, it isn't about her character. It is about his, character, Billy. All this stuff you are trying to guess at is what the movie is really about.

Instead of being mystified, you have to trust your instincts in movies like this, because the answers aren't going to be spoonfed to you as they are in most movies.

When you see a prison scene and you see how Billy acts around Layla and you see how his mother is and you see those damn red shoes, you are given some indirect clues. Take the leap of faith and connect the dots. That's what you are supposed to do here.

[–] clashwho 9 years ago

Who said he was "heterosexual"?

Well, the end of the movie seems to.

All this machine does is swim, and eat, and make little sharks. -- Matt Hooper, JAWS

[–] tpupkin 9 years ago

Bully was still a little boy -- the same little boy in the photo at the beginning -- who wanted his mommy to love him. He thought about sex the way a 7 year old boy does: not at all, or gross.