Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
bombersflyup
Billy Liar was awful. It was uninteresting and about nothing.An annoying character making up silly fantasies in his head, no thanks. Turned it off, which is rare for me I will usually just endure it.
christopher-underwood
Having seen Albert Finney on stage I didn't feel that Tom Courtney was as strong in the lead role for the film but in many ways this suits the part. No point in making the daydreaming loser too strong in personality, although the anomaly here is that he seems to have no difficulty attracting the ladies even if he is a bit soppy. Never as funny as the book, Schlesinger opens up the film and those facial gestures from the stage and subtle asides in the book are lost. As a movie capturing the times that were very much about to change it is brilliant. I loved the opening credits with the rows of semi-detached houses (because we are talking poor middle class here, not working class) and the shots of slum clearance. The tone is apt too and very theme, so central here, of 'going down to London' so much of the time just a few years before those swing sixties would burst everything apart. One last point, should anyone be wary of bothering with a British 'kitchen sink' drama, there is an early and completely incandescent performance from Julie Christie. She glows on screen and is particularly noticeable with the surrounding drabness and the usual stereotypical British girls on show. A sensational performance that set Christie up fora very decent career and parts in some very influential and important films, not least her next with the same director - Darling.
chuck-reilly
Although Tom Courtenay is the star of "Billy Liar" and gives an outstanding performance as this British version of a "Walter Mitty-like" character, it's a very young Julie Christie who steals the show. Her part isn't large and her on-screen time is limited, but Christie's free-spirited carefree role changes the dynamics of the film and challenges Courtenay's Billy Fisher to do something with his life besides living in a complex fantasy world of his own making. Fisher is mainly concerned with his standing in Ambrosia, a make-believe European country where he resides as military hero, dictator and all-around super human being. He's forever leading the parade in this imaginative world as his real life passes him by. In reality, Fisher lives in a drab northern English city and employed as an undertaker's assistant. He's a notorious and habitual liar and under-achieving in every facet of his existence---except one. He has more than one fiancée and is constantly juggling his lies to keep them at arm's distance. In the hands of a less capable director, Fisher's "problems" wouldn't elicit anything more than a yawn and a cheap laugh. But the great John Schlesinger is able to present Billy's story with a bundle of humor tinged with a whiff of sympathy. He's really a lost soul but doesn't know it yet. The ambivalent ending can be taken two different ways depending on the viewer's opinion. The final scene where Christie leaves alone on the train to London stays with you long after the final reel is over."Billy Liar" was Tom Courtenay's second major success after "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" was released the previous year. He followed this role with a lead part in David Lean's epic "Doctor Zhivago." He's kept himself busy with stage and screen work to this day and he's now "Sir" Thomas Courtenay. For Julie Christie, all the doors opened up for her after "Billy" and she continued on to international success. Her next film, also with Schlesinger directing, was "Darling" for which she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress. But seeing her in this first major role is certainly a treat. It's easy to see why she became one of screen's all-time leading ladies. Actress debuts don't come any better than Julie Christie's in "Billy Liar." John Schlesinger's career took off after "Billy Liar" and "Darling." He's probably best remembered now for directing Dustin Hoffmann and Lawrence Olivier in the thriller "Marathon Man."
tonysx
Billy Liar directed by John Schlesinger is a great example of a person who desperately wants to escape his meaningless existence but doesn't have the nerve to take action. Billy Fisher is a young man who lives with his parents and works for an undertaker. He constantly lives very vivid fantasies in his head mostly about a country he imagined named Ambrosia. He has ambitions of leaving his boring life behind and becoming a famous screenwriter but never really writes anything or makes an effort to reach that goal. His job as a clerk for an undertaker shows just how dreary and miserable his life really is. Billy is so unhappy in his Yorkshire life that he conjures up all of these very elaborate lies in order to make himself look or feel better. He juggles between two girlfriends who think they are engaged to him. Barbara and Rita are told every excuse in the book by Billy so that he can get the one ring he has to pass between the two of them. He cannot make a decision of which to be with and instead of addressing the situation, Billy uses his imagination to get him out of one jam after another. Whenever things get rough with his girlfriends, parents, or employer he imagines mowing them down with a machine gun. Instead of facing the issues, Billy just slips into his imaginary world where is in control. Billy also has a third woman in his life named Liz. Her first scene in the film tells her whole personality. She is shown slowly strolling through the streets swinging her bag looking as if she hasn't a care in the world. Unlike Billy she is happy in the real world and makes the best of it. She comes and goes as she pleases and when she wants to make a change in her life she gets up and takes action without hesitation. She is also the only person who Billy is really honest to. She accepts him for who he is and actually offers him a real escape from his life by moving to London and starting fresh. He can be with the one girl who truly understands him. Billy could pursue his screen writing ambitions and leave behind the nagging of his parents and girlfriends. Ultimately Billy leaves Liz on the train to London. He is too scared to leave his life behind even though it's all he seems to want. The last scene culminates it all. Billy imagines marching home with the Ambrosia army at his back. He was cowardly and slips back into his comfortable life leaving behind possibly the best thing in his life, Liz. Instead of dealing with those facts and his mistakes he fantasizes about marching home triumphantly. This sums up Billy Fisher perfectly. No matter how bad things are and how much he screws things up he can always drift into his fantasy world where everything is OK. This film is funny and incredibly relatable for me unfortunately. It captures the struggles of young adulthood and the fear of going for what you want.
