Life with Billy

let me introduce myself I am the niece of Jane Stafford who was my aunt and Billy Stafford was my uncle. My father Merle Stafford was his brother. This was a very turbulent time in our lives growing up and I must say this movie has brought back many memories of growing up.It is not something I talk a lot about. We did not spend a lot of time with this part of my family as you can see why. However my sister and myself were named after Jane and she was a very loving mother and lived a life of fear.I can tell you alcohol was a very aggressive factor in our lives and affected the lives of all concerned.When a individual lives in a life of fear and violence and endures the suffering inflicted on them daily how much do you think you could endure? I'm not saying she was right in shooting my uncle but I don't believe she committed suicide either.Sometimes a silent cry for help goes unheard.......

It is a rare treat that such a movie comes along that hits it hard right at home on such a real and common problem... abuse. I first caught this movie in High School shown to students in a Career and Life Management class. I was not only amazed at how great the movie was, but how real it seemed. To those that might not be aware of it, this movie was based on a 'real life event' that happened earlier on. After the movie, we were shown a short documentary titled 'Life After Billy'. It showed us how the survivors of the real incident are, and what they are doing. I highly recommend this movie to anyone that either lives with, or had lived through abuse.

A near-perfect script uses flashback and well-laced narrative to describe the true story of a woman who endured a monstrous husband. Without giving away the plot, just know that it's a great story. Really nails the issue. Sometimes tough to watch, but more than worth it by the end. One of those rare movies that truly moves us.

When I first heard about this movie, I thought it would be a Lifetime Network type TV movie about an abused woman. I was expecting a glossed over story of a strong woman overcoming terrible hardships at the hands of an abusive husband. Act 2 would have her realizing she there was life outside of her marriage, and Act 3 would have her leaving the relationship and bringing her life together (probably with the help of a friend who was saying from the start that her husband was a bastard.)

I couldn't have been more wrong. This is not a heart warming story, a happy story or one that most people even want to admit can happen. With the use of flashbacks, a shockingly realistic portrayal of living with an extremely abusive person unfolds for the viewer. What is shown is surprising considering this is a CBC made for TV movie, but the director does an amazing job of expressing and building the psychological terror the family felt. For example, the scenes at the dinner table, even before anything happens, are gripping because you can feel the immense strain.

During most of the scenes at the families home, I couldn't help but think of 'Das Boot.' The feeling of claustrophobia grows until it feels like the walls are closing in and Billy is everywhere.

The end is so amazingly good, I won't even try to summarize. All I can say is that when I first watched it, it was recommended by our grade 11 law teacher so we could talk about it afterwards. This was the CBC premiere, and to be blunt, I think it permanently damaged a couple of those kids and probably damaged the teachers career.

In short, a great movie that should be seen by many more!