Posted by PaladinCub22 at 12-209-208-73.client.attbi.com on February 26, 2003 at 16:56:13:
I was making my usual run through Blockbuster. Not buying anything mind you. I try not to buy from media-censoring whores, but their selection is decent so I go through and make a list of movies I need to see. Then I go home and update my Netflix queue. Anyway, I was meandering through stuff when I came across a single dvd box. This is odd cause at Blockbuster, everything is in copies of a hundred it seems. Simple cover, a stout bearded fellow who looked kind of familiar. The title could have been porno. :) I grabbed it with little hesitation and headed to the checkout aisle; my scruples momentarily put aside.
My god its huge. Wonderfully, tantalizing, nectar of the sweet gods long. I was happy with it. A whole 4 hours of Kevin in front of a college auditorium telling stories and answering questions. First off, this is the most I've ever heard him speak and I'm one of the folks who follow him pretty intently. Its really easy to see how his dialogue is so clear and pure. He's an amazing storyteller, the voices within his stories are clear and strong. They come through so naturally and involve you so deeply that 4 hours feel like a single breath between sentences. Although not all the questions were as probing as I would like, he was able to express much more than just the answers; in a sense, he ends up giving a part of himself to the audience.
What did bother me was his constant assessment of himself as not ever being in the Woody/Spielberg, et al range. I think this is horrifically short-sighted. On pure filmmaking terms, Kevin Smith has yet to develop a visual style that marks him as a director and not just a writer who often directs his work. This is important for him to enter the league of the greats; film-making is a visual experience and stories are told in pictures as much as in conversation. Its like planning to build a house without the complete set of tools; it can still be done but it might have some rough edges and strange angles. Sometimes its instinctive - Scorsese in the 'Raging Bull' fight scenes, Scorsese in the "Goodfellas" club entrance scene, Kubrick in everything. But mostly, I believe its learned as you practice the craft. I'm not asking for Fellini or Malick here, just no more ten-minute scenes of characters throwing darts at the camera while standing up against a bare wall. :)
On writing though, Kevin Smith has latent skills to be one of the best ever. From comic to tragic, absurd to incredibly humanistic, from soliloquies to simple conversation, or from poop-monsters to conversations with God; I can't imagine anyone since Wilder covering that kind of range and never lose the guiding principle of keeping strong your voice. Give it time, keep writing (as if its possible to stop), at 31 years of age, its just beginning. Even now, he is doing that. The Arenas articles are brilliant, the occasional criticism in Film Comment is incredibly insightful. Some, like me, hope that writing non-fiction becomes a hobby because its immensely good reading.
Also, what cemented by innocent hero-worship was the stories about his wife, specifically the first "date." and the pain/pleasure of such a momentous event. :) Its that sentimentality that some fans are afraid of and others are dying to see in print. I'm not knocking comedy but there are realms of experience that dick&fart jokes disregard. Now, as Kevin leans into the next section of his life and career, one hopes that he can represent the other things that make up our screwed-up lives with the wit, humor and intelligence that often jumps out at us in his ramblings. I doubt these ramblings was planned, but they all have that sense of clarity one never finds in conversation. Casual eloquence should never be taken for granted.
Enough Kevin Smith love, I need to get back to my own work.
-Carlos