I watched the first cut version of "Clerks." I was prepared to be mildly amused and not much impressed. I ended up enthralled, deeply moved, and with a ton of admiration for Kevin Smith's direction.
I tend to like low-budget movies more than polished, expensive ones, in part because my tastes are classical, and simplicity attracts me. I also admire the inventiveness needed to make a good film with simple means and not much money.
This film, for me, succeeds 100% in meeting those goals. Yes, there are moments, several of them, that are contrived, but there is no indication, from the first scene, that the film is intended to be naturalistic. The director later had misgivings about Dante falling out of a closet, presumably because he had to sleep there due to the dog taking up the bed. I think it was a stroke of genius, for it "warns" the viewer that strange things are apt to happen in the film. They certainly do--abundantly.
SPOILER FOLLOWS:
When it came to the last scene, I had a sudden sense of foreboding, and then came the awful ending to the film. I felt shattered and yet I felt that this was exactly right--in keeping with what city life really is. Is it still a comedy? Yes and no. I will be reflecting on the contrast between the body of the film and its horrific ending for a long time, and don't expect to find any easy answers.
The friendship between Randal and Dante, who can neither stand each other nor do without each other, is so well portrayed with such simple means that I marvel at the psychological perception required, and used. Randal really is a guy who genuinely wants to help others, and this is slowly revealed through the film. He's clumsy, he's rude, he can be obscene, but he basically has compassion that wins out. I think this is one of the best characterizations I've seen anywhere.
I rated this a ten. Before I watched it, I figured it would deserve maybe a four, from what I'd heard of it. I will be watching this one again.
I tend to like low-budget movies more than polished, expensive ones, in part because my tastes are classical, and simplicity attracts me. I also admire the inventiveness needed to make a good film with simple means and not much money.
This film, for me, succeeds 100% in meeting those goals. Yes, there are moments, several of them, that are contrived, but there is no indication, from the first scene, that the film is intended to be naturalistic. The director later had misgivings about Dante falling out of a closet, presumably because he had to sleep there due to the dog taking up the bed. I think it was a stroke of genius, for it "warns" the viewer that strange things are apt to happen in the film. They certainly do--abundantly.
SPOILER FOLLOWS:
When it came to the last scene, I had a sudden sense of foreboding, and then came the awful ending to the film. I felt shattered and yet I felt that this was exactly right--in keeping with what city life really is. Is it still a comedy? Yes and no. I will be reflecting on the contrast between the body of the film and its horrific ending for a long time, and don't expect to find any easy answers.
The friendship between Randal and Dante, who can neither stand each other nor do without each other, is so well portrayed with such simple means that I marvel at the psychological perception required, and used. Randal really is a guy who genuinely wants to help others, and this is slowly revealed through the film. He's clumsy, he's rude, he can be obscene, but he basically has compassion that wins out. I think this is one of the best characterizations I've seen anywhere.
I rated this a ten. Before I watched it, I figured it would deserve maybe a four, from what I'd heard of it. I will be watching this one again.
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