Billy Liar

It's hard to believe that coming-of-age dramedies about young men are still being released. Not only have plenty of them already been made, but none can hope to top 1963's "Billy Liar."

A clerk at a funeral home in northern England, Billy is even more irresponsible than most characters of his ilk. He's convinced two women that they are engaged to him and routinely steals from his boss. He frequently daydreams, picturing himself as the ruler of an imaginary nation called Astoria.

Yet it's not hard to sympathize with Billy, who is constantly browbeaten by his parents at home and his boss at work. When his ideal arrives--a beautiful girl played by the wonderful Julie Christie, ready to whisk him away to London--he backs down and returns to his parents.

This ending is just about perfect. We learn that Billy is selfish but not a bad person. He's also a dreamer, not a doer. Like so many who rage against the stultifying dullness of suburbia, Billy would be lost without its safety and comforts.

The film was directed by Joel Schlesinger, most famous for his work in "Midnight Cowboy." Schlesinger is far better here, with energetic camerawork and a terrific sequence involving Christie waltzing through the city. Schlesinger also neatly handles Billy's reveries, which are often interrupted suddenly by nuisances such as his parents. As is so often the case with great works, many would imitate Schlesinger, but few could compare.