75
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayIf the film has a significant flaw, it's that Venditti never explains in the film how she found Billy, or why she's interested in him. Billy The Kid often plays more like an extended home movie than something intentional and artful.
- 80L.A. WeeklyErnest HardyL.A. WeeklyErnest HardyBut what you ultimately take from the film is the awareness that this smart, self-aware, uncensored kid has been playing to a camera in his own head since well before Venditti came along.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoIn her directorial debut, Venditti does her best to keep a distance between herself and her subjects. But you have to wonder how much of the Billy we see on-screen is affected by the presence of Venditti's camera.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinA heartbreaking vérité documentary by Jennifer Venditti about a misfit Maine teenager--a film that makes you think about (and question) what fitting in really entails.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceI have seen more than 25 documentaries this year, and after a while they all start to run together, both structurally and thematically. Billy the Kid is utterly original in both respects.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisPresenting neither an argument for medication nor its rejection, Billy the Kid is a deceptively simple portrait of a shockingly self-aware and articulate young man.
- 70Los Angeles TimesCarina ChocanoLos Angeles TimesCarina Chocanoa movie about adolescence unlike any other; An intimate portrait of a singular personality in the making and a stark look at our culture of suspicion and conformity.
- 50VarietyVarietyOne of the more irresponsible eruptions in the current rash of populist nonfiction cinema.