QUID PRO QUO tells the story of a paralyzed radio personality played by Nick Stahl, who one day gets a tip that there exists a FIGHT CLUB like group of men and women that meet regularly in a secret location to share their hopes, experiences and desires; in particular, their desire to be physically handicapped. Oddly, these men and women are able-bodied, healthy individuals, well, at least physically healthy, if not mentally.

This discovery leads to Issac’s meeting Fiona (Vera Farmiga), a sexy cripple-wanna-be who opens up to Issac about her perverse desire to live in a wheel chair, and shockingly Issac isn’t the least bit offended. Which I suppose if you were being thrown unsolicited sex by the likes of Vera Farmiga, you might be a bit blinded to the incredibly obnoxious behavior of your new bedmate.

The long and the short of QUID PRO QUO is that while the uniqueness of Fiona’s fetish is intriguing at first, eventually she just becomes annoyingly cracked. The one bright side of the film is to see Nick Stahl in a challenging role. And his chops are on full display when his character Issac, fully invigorated by the sexual peccadillos of his new girlfriend, buys a new pair of shoes. The story takes a decidedly interesting turn when Issac tries on the new shoes and is miraculously able to walk.

This discovery will eventually lead to a couple of surprising developments in the end. And as far as “surprise endings” go, the final sequence of events in QUID PRO QUO are actually pretty thought-provoking. But, really it’s a bit late at this point, and you will have long since either turned the movie off, or fallen asleep.

So, while I didn’t necessarily like QUID PRO QUO, I was quite happy to sit through it, because truth be told, I’m always likely to be a willing witness to Sexual Perversity in Cinema. And then you throw in the likes of the underrated and underused actor Nick Stahl, and I’m hooked.

All this talk of sexual perversity and Nick Stahl got me to thinking about one of my all-time favorite performances...

Nick Stahl spat his way onto the silver screen and into the nightmares of the select few who saw his stunning performance as the Psycho Sexual Bobby Kent in Larry Clark’s master work BULLY (2001).

BULLY told the “true story” of a group of sexually promiscuous Florida teens (what other type teen would you expect in a Larry Clark film?), who inexplicably get drawn into a murder/revenge fantasy by Marty (Brad Renfro), a victim of violent and homoerotic attacks at the hands of the “bully” Bobby Kent.

You might say that BULLY is the concluding chapter in a trilogy of films by Larry Clark in which he depicts the underbelly of teen life (a teenage wasteland where everyday is Lord of the Flies): KIDS (1995), BULLY (2001), and KEN PARK (2002). But, given Mr. Clark’s reputation for borderline pornographic depictions of teen sex and a penchant for shock value, it might be a bit misleading to assume he will stop exploring the dark side of young America.

While KIDS was essentially a hyperventilated After-school Special, BULLY was elevated by a screenplay that at least attempted to rise above the melodrama and deliver an authentic portrait. Screenwriters David McKenna and Roger Pullis take Jim Schutze’s book "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge"and construct two very distinct and original character arcs: Marty (victim) and Bobby (bully); and while Brad Renfro did well to play Marty with a certain adolescent self-pity and petulance; the star of the film is the bully himself Nick Stahl.

Like DeNiro in CAPE FEAR (1991) or Pesci in GOODFELLAS (1990), Stahl remarkably taps into a frighteningly familiar male animal that is driven by resentment, bitterness, and self-loathing; who will unleash his ugly rage upon anyone and anything that happens to be within range. But, what truly elevates Nick Stahl’s performance to rarified air, is his ability to inhabit this monster with an open-eyed enthusiasm.

You often hear actors talk about how in order to play a bad guy convincingly, you must not judge the character you are playing, a very logical assumption. But, what if the character you are playing hates himself; loathes himself; to the point of self-destruction. The “bully” Bobby is not just a violent animal, he’s a sexual predator; seeking out prey to satisfy his twisted and convoluted sexual instincts.

While the film hints at the possibility that Bobby may be the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his father, the real depth of the piece underlies a clear latent homosexual relationship between Bobby and Marty. It is a sad truth that has become very tiresome in film: the homosexual or latent homosexual born of abuse. But, in BULLY, where the entire youth culture stinks of testosterone and lipstick, it’s a realistic notion. Nick Stahl must contend with these warring factions within his character, and does so with a naturalistic, unpretentious, and un-self-conscious performance.

The climax of BULLY is bizarrely melancholy. When the “bully” dies at the hands of the “victim”, you don’t feel pity necessarily, but there is a sense of loss. Because, while you don’t really grow to care about Bobby, you do feel that you know him.

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