Buffalo '66

Buffalo '66 (1998) is Vincent Gallo's debut drama, ready to watch online on iFILM. Fresh out of prison after five years for a crime he didn't commit, Billy Brown grabs a girl off the street and drags her home to pose as his fiancée in front of his parents.

Christina Ricci plays Layla, who tap-dances in shoes too big for her and, inexplicably, chooses to stay. Billy has another errand: hunt down and kill the bookie whose name he's been carrying like a brand. Waiting at the house are a mother obsessed with her football team, still blaming Billy because giving birth to him made her miss the 1966 game, and a father who radiates quiet menace. Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston make them unforgettable.

Gallo directed, wrote, produced, starred and scored the thing himself. Grainy film stock, frozen-frame flashbacks and an icy Buffalo winter give it the texture of a bad memory replayed. Best for anyone who likes prickly American indies where cruelty and tenderness hold hands. Stream Buffalo '66 (1998) online on iFILM.