Bull (2021) Bull by name, Bull by nature (Blu-Ray Review)

Ahead of the looming release of Tangerine, Bull is the most recent release from the always-strong Second Sight Films. Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton, The Cottage) directs and writes Neil Maskell in the titular role, a character you could describe as a savage. The brutality of his actions is undercut only by his love and tenderness for his son. However, life isn’t going quite great for him. Structurally like Dead Man’s Shoes and Get Carter, Bull sees one man exacting revenge on members of a lowly local crime family with brutal, calculating efficiency.

Brutal is a perfect word for both character and the film. While non-linear in its constructions, so the why and how of why he is carving this bloody path isn’t clear for a while – nonetheless, the first time we see him in his element, he has wrapped someone to a chair with masking tape (face included). When the captive’s wife turns up, he’s not patient or understanding: he asks his question a few times, and after he doesn’t get the answer he wants, he stabs the man taped to a chair in his heart and then in his neck. This is graphic, grizzly stuff – quick, bloody and with no cinematic theatre to its presentation. Stab. Dead. That’s it. Each time he kills, the ugly images burn themselves into your memory.

As bad as Bull is, cutting people’s fingers off, sticking knives in people’s mouths, and slicing arteries – he was still someone’s underling. His former boss and the gang’s ringleader is Norm (​David Hayman), and he gets the most upsetting scene in a film full of upset. As they investigate who is killing his men, Norm and a few of his men head to Bull’s Mum’s (Elizabeth Counsell) house. His men help her with her bets, then Norm intimidates this sweet, innocent 83-year-old woman with a cold confidence; asking his men to leave, he closes the curtains – we aren’t allowed to see what happens next. Good, as the conversation between the two gave me a twisting sickness in the pit of my stomach, every bit as extreme and unforgiving as the likes of Snowtown or Henry (Portrait of a Serial Killer).

When Bull finds his mum, we see how complex a character and how ferocious a performance this is from Neil Maskell. See, Bull is a conflicted character. He got his name because he is a horrifically violent man who can tap into his rage. The sort of guy you’d run away from, never mind crossing the road whenever you see him. Even your average slasher villain would double-take at his outbursts. There’s an everyman schlubby-ness to Maskell, and his rage isn’t just the sort of anger that people experience a few times in their life – he finds it funny. In the scene on the Waltzer’s, Maskell’s wild howling laughter turns it into the single scariest scene I’ve seen in the past year. Easy. However, any moment shared with his son (Aiden) shows a tenderness to his character. More than that, he’s somewhat happy. He loves his son so much that the monster that dwells within may as well be a different person. And that’s what makes Maskell’s performance so phenomenal, that an everyman who can be so sweet and tender with his family could have access to such white hot, scorched earth anger. And wanting him to achieve his revenge – Bull is a complicated character and an emotionally complex ride to hell.

Here comes the big but – the last scene is a problematic one. Bull ends with a twist that changes the complexion of the entire film, and not for the better. Being non-linear, we don’t know how Bull survives the wrath of this nasty little crime family, and as long as it’s an unanswered question (or ” a long story”), there’s a satisfying ambiguity. However, that final scene shows the true nature of who has been carving this visceral path of vengeance. I won’t say that it ruins the film as that would ignore the oppressive sense of danger the director finely crafted with his game cast. Plus, super hyperbolic. Even so, it hurts the film. It’s better to think that Bull ends the minute he steps over the precipe of the church. Think in those terms and Bull becomes a modern classic; keep on watching and I’m sad to say the film flubs over the finish line with a spectacular failure of grace.

This is a Second Sight Film so we are talking about a classy release. There’s a slipcase with gorgeous art by James Neal and a handful of collectors’ art cards that highlights the gorgeous nocturnal cinematography. As far as on-disc extras are concerned, it’s quite minimal compared to other releases from the acclaimed label. There’s an audio commentary with Directors Paul Andrew Williams & Neil Maskell, on top of that there are three interviews, one with the director and two with producers. But the reason for its slim pickings can be explained away with a revelation in the Williams interview. This is a COVID-era produced feature with a largely inexperienced cast, not exactly the territory for endless making-of documentaries. And when you consider how well it came together, with COVID lockdowns as its production backdrops – that it has ended up this good is a major achievement.

Bull (2021)