Buffalo Bill's Defunct: Stories from the New West

Dismantling the past: "Buffalo Bill's Defunct"

An ambitious and often moving feature, produced locally and directed by Seattle's Matt Wilkins, "Buffalo Bill's Defunct" is both shrewd and sophisticated film-making.

Essentially a collection of poignant short tales about the grown children and grandchildren of ornery but magnanimous "Buffalo" Bill (Earl V. Prebezac, co-founder of Edmonds' Driftwood Players), the action begins when Bill accidentally rams his truck through a wall of his dilapidated shed.

Deciding it's time to demolish the rustic hut, widower Bill enlists his kin in removing its family paraphernalia from bygone years. This dismantling of the past becomes a catalyst for learning more about Bill's kids (and their kids) through spare vignettes that have been compared, with good reason, to stories of the late Port Angeles writer Raymond Carver.

One of the best pieces stars Keith Fox as an emotionally reckless and taciturn father whose grown daughter (Frances Hearn) reluctantly bonds with him while humiliating her drunken boyfriend (Michael White).

Improvising dialog and behavior, the entire cast and Wilkins find a quiet if urgent soulfulness somewhat obscured at times by overly busy editing.

— Tom Keogh, Special to The Seattle Times

Buffalo Bill's Defunct is a startlingly engaging film, which despite its lack of "plot" draws you in to the characters' lives, so much so that you feel a part of the family. Flashbacks to Wilkins's earlier film, Interior Latex, give a depth and sense of continuity that is often lacking in this sort of documentary-style narrative.

The actors have an easy camaraderie with one another, and move with the un-self-consciousness of real family. The location is stunning. The characters are so well defined that you feel like you could call them up & help them with their barn / garage destruction.

Definitely worth watching!