Billy Liar (1963)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cassandra M

  
  Billy Liar!" impressed me more than many other admirable British pictures of this era, like "Room at the Top", "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" and "This Sporting Life". It managed to generate a more tangible blend of poignancy and… More
  Billy Liar!" impressed me more than many other admirable British pictures of this era, like "Room at the Top", "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" and "This Sporting Life". It managed to generate a more tangible blend of poignancy and amusement. It's not often humour of the "laugh-out-loud" nature, more of the subtle, grim kind. The reality of Britain at that time is I suspect, very well conveyed here, with the old working-class, represented by Councillor Duxbury (astutely played by the fine Finlay Currie) and Billy's family, very much at odds with what they see as an ungrateful, decadent youth. All the performances hit the intended mark, with Leonard Rossiter typically Rossiter, almost as a younger Rigsby, without so much noticeable seediness. Julie Christie is as good as the role allows, an odd role, very much the "dream girl" of Billy and I dare say a good few others. The film expertly avoids sentimentalizing matters by its cunning, apposite last section. The Danny Boon character is, one suspects, all too typical of the TV light entertainer mould in reality. His reliance on cheap non-gags, smug guffaws and "audience banter" is well conveyed in just a few short scenes. It's interesting that Billy seems to aspire so much to write for him in particular... Helen Fraser's character Barbara is wonderfully quaint; a type long gone it seems. One can understand Billy's frustrations with his respectively prudish and plain (Barbara) and ignorant (Rita) girlfriends, and his anger at his family, although some sympathy is correctly reserved for them. The direction is very good by Schlesinger, emphasizing all the right things. The fine context-setting opening montage expertly draws in the viewer, and never at any stage henceforth is anyone's attention likely to wane. The film is most of all Tom Courtenay's; he gives a truly resonant performance, bringing to vivid life a character far removed from the norms of film making at the time. The fantasy sequences are finely done, and all add more deep impression of this character. His digressive tendencies, self-destructive habits, economy with the truth are well balanced by a sense of yearning and imagination. One cannot help but like and relate to the character, a creation that resoundingly rings true. His ambivalence to the class system comes across concisely, in particular. A fine film indeed, with so many of the smaller touches that many films miss. Witty, sad and a seminal film of the era, very much a crossroads in British history.

• AJ V

  
  I wasn't very impressed with this movie or any of the cast really, it wasn't very funny or enjoyable, but once in a while it has a funny moment, so it's an okay movie.

• Pierluigi P

  
  Billy Fisher's choice at the end left me thinking two things. first, that in order to find happiness one not necessarily has to leave all behind, because after all, that is just a state of mind and a excuse of society to break our individuality in pieces. And second, that Billy,… More
  Billy Fisher's choice at the end left me thinking two things. first, that in order to find happiness one not necessarily has to leave all behind, because after all, that is just a state of mind and a excuse of society to break our individuality in pieces. And second, that Billy, being the irresponsible daydreamer that he is, is above all a coward and a cheeky conformist who wouldn't deprive himself from the pleasure and the importance he has as a refugee of his inner world, without caring much for anything else than fantasizing to escape mediocrity and boredom. So as my writing may show, I found this picture utterly personal, wildly comic but also lugubrious, sad, like a dead end... or a hard smash on the floor after a light and pleasant flight of the senses.

• Stella D

  
  a charming british comedy from the 60's that is ultimately quite touching. a young man lives in a fantasy world until confronted with an opportunity to actually change his life. tom courtenay gives an amazing performance that put me in mind of malcolm macdowell in a clockwork… More
  a charming british comedy from the 60's that is ultimately quite touching. a young man lives in a fantasy world until confronted with an opportunity to actually change his life. tom courtenay gives an amazing performance that put me in mind of malcolm macdowell in a clockwork orange. this is also julie christie's first major role and she's adorable as ever. highly entertaining.

• Michael G

  
  Billy Liar didn't floor me, but the overall look of the movie and John Schlesinger's direction did. The brief machine gun cutaways and the brief Ambrosia sidebars were brilliant. God knows when I don't want to deal with someone or something I just want to open fire with… More
  Billy Liar didn't floor me, but the overall look of the movie and John Schlesinger's direction did. The brief machine gun cutaways and the brief Ambrosia sidebars were brilliant. God knows when I don't want to deal with someone or something I just want to open fire with a machine gun. Tom Courtenay was amazing though. Ultimately what kind of failed to sell me on Billy Liar was the abysmal depression of an overall feel of the movie and the abundant lack of The Freewheelin' Julie Christie. How her and Tom Courtenay suddenly got together towards the end was also a little suspect.

• Emily B

  
  One of my favourites. Has some great comic moments as well as being one of the best known of the "kitchen sink dramas". The story revolves around Billy who does nothing but daydream and let his imagination run wild. Its through his wild imagination that Billy has managed to… More
  One of my favourites. Has some great comic moments as well as being one of the best known of the "kitchen sink dramas". The story revolves around Billy who does nothing but daydream and let his imagination run wild. Its through his wild imagination that Billy has managed to find himself engaged to not one but 3 girlfriends. It may seem that Billy is uncaring towards his family and 3 girlfriends but it becomes clear that Billy?s wild imagination and habit of lying is his way of escaping the humdrum life of 1960s Northern England. Also a great performance by Julie Christie in her first major film role.

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