Charming Billy

1999
1h 22m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

205

YOUR RATING

Drama Thriller

Billy Starkman is a seemingly ordinary man living in a small Midwestern town who one day wakes up, murders his family, climbs a rural water tower with a high-powered hunting rifle and begins... Read allBilly Starkman is a seemingly ordinary man living in a small Midwestern town who one day wakes up, murders his family, climbs a rural water tower with a high-powered hunting rifle and begins shooting innocent people. Threading the terribly tragic with the maddeningly mundane, Cha... Read allBilly Starkman is a seemingly ordinary man living in a small Midwestern town who one day wakes up, murders his family, climbs a rural water tower with a high-powered hunting rifle and begins shooting innocent people. Threading the terribly tragic with the maddeningly mundane, Charming Billy attempts to imagine what could possibly lead a man to commit the unimaginable.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

205

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Photos5

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Goofs
About 48 minutes into the movie, Billy and his grandfather are watching home movies. When we see the movie projector from far away, the front reel is very small and the back reel is big. In close-ups of the projector, both reels are the same size.

Quotes
Ray Starkman: Shoulda figured you for a breast man; never did think we'd get you offa your mothers.
Billy Starkman: Maybe that's the problem, there's too many opportunities. Opportunities for advancement, opportunities for growth...opportunities for opportunities missed.

Crazy credits
Final credit after the copyright notice is a quote from novelist Harry Crews: What I know is that all over the surface of the earth where humankind exists men and women are resisting climbing the Tower. All of us have a Tower to climb. Some are worse than others, but to deny that you have your Tower to climb and that you must resist it or succomb to the tempation to do it, to deny that is done at the peril of your heart and mind.

Connections
References Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

User reviews7

Review

Featured review

7/10

Great movie, really well acted

I caught this on IFC the other day (Thank God for that channel). I was blown away. Although the cast is relatively unknown, they do an amazing job of following one man's descent into madness, and the chilling effects on those around him. I am really perplexed by all the "controversiy" that surrounded this movie, yet torture films like SAW III and Hostel don't ruffle any feathers. Although disturbing, Charming Billy is a story, not just a bunch of scenes where naked women are cut to pieces, brain surgery is performed with drills, and everyone is basically a little dumber for watching them. Catch this hidden gem if you get a chance.