Dogma

Reviewed by Catherine, Georgiana and Renie

The first time I watched this film, I didn't watch it properly! I watched the first 25 minutes, until the end of the first Rickman section, then jumped chapters for the second Rickman section, and then jumped straight to the end quarter of an hour. The beauty of this method seemed to be that, since Mr. Rickman's character is the main storyteller, you lose very little of the plot! You also compress all of Mr. Rickman's screen appearance in this film into a very watchable 45 minutes or so, and can really get to grips with how funny his character is.

I thought that I'd better check I hadn't completely missed any vital plot points, though, so I made myself sit down and watch the whole thing from start to finish. I hadn't missed much. In full, this is an overly long film, which had too much unnecessary violence for my liking. The main story is a good idea, but I feel that a much sharper movie could have been made simply by cutting down on the tangential storylines.

The basic plot is that two angels, who have been banished from Heaven for all eternity, ("To Hell?" "Worse. Wisconsin!"), have discovered that in Catholic dogma there is a loophole which would allow them to return to Paradise. To do this, they need to travel to New Jersey! Former Angel of Death Loki (Matt Damon) and Watcher Bartleby (Ben Affleck) embark eagerly on their journey. Given the task of preventing Loki and Bartleby exploiting the loophole (...and thus negatin' all existence"), is Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), a seemingly unlikely choice given that she has lost her faith in God. Who better to tell Bethany of her mission than Metatron, the Voice of God (Alan Rickman, natch!), an angel with a fondness for tequila, and whose initial appearance to Bethany, supposed to fill her with awe, just ends up in his getting soaked?!

The race is on: can Bethany, with Metatron, the 13th Apostle (Chris Rock), the Muse (Salma Hayek), and the Prophets (Jay & Silent Bob), figure out how to stop Loki and Bartleby from completing their plan? This plotline of the film is good, clever, and witty, and occasionally tender, eg. when Metatron silences Bethany's doubts about her mission. What could have been done to take 30 minutes or so off the film's running time is to remove the sideline mission that Loki and Bartleby embark upon on their way. I felt that this did nothing to advance the main story, and although the violence that occurs in the film is never in close-up, I feel that less of it would have done the film no harm.

Stealing the movie again is of course Rickman. Metatron gets all the best lines, and Rickman delivers them perfectly in a broad London accent. The character is kind and funny, and immensely likable. The pale make-up doesn't do much for him, however, but the hair is not too bad at all! There is a wonderful hand shot at the end of the movie, too, in a very touching final scene. The only reason Rickman doesn't get a higher hand rating is because he's simply not in it enough.

This film is worth a look, but I wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy it; it must be due on TV soon at a guess. Rating of 2.5 for Rickman's presence, (and Affleck's looking pretty good in it, too) and some very good jokes, but which are too few and far between.

I flew to Toronto to see the premiere of the final theatrical release version (thanks, Lions Gate!) of this latest entry from Kevin Smith. A very funny film, it appeared to be more appreciated by the older, 'second showing' crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival than by the 20-something opening night bunch. One wonders if they better recognized the multiple movie and several television references that pepper the film.

As testimony to the work of young director/writer Kevin Smith--or perhaps to the religious controversy and Catholic League opposition engendered by this film--it was sold out on both occasions. Mr. Smith, very humorous and personable, was on hand to deftly handle questions. In spite of his avowals of this film being a testimony to his Catholic faith, it has received a well-deserved "R" rating (for "strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content"). Obscenities are less gratuitous than in his previous "Chasing Amy," and Jay's (Jason Mewes) final remarks to God (Alanis Morissette) are obscenely hilarious.

The highlight was another stellar performance from Alan Rickman, as Metatron, the Voice of God ("I am the Metatron, herald of the Almighty, and Voice of the One True God") whose skill is truly remarkable in illuminating the occasionally otherwise tedious exposition required to advance the plot. He inspires with touching paternal tenderness as Bethany's mentor--walking on water the while--and fully redeems the ludicrous display of his Ken-doll physiology and angelic Tequila quaffing earlier in the film.

Smith himself, as Silent Bob, has a larger role than in his previous films, dispatching the Golgothan and retrieving the body of the slain Bethany (Fiorentino). He and the "Good Will Hunting" boys--Matt Damon and Ben Affleck--plus the rest of the locker room crew seem at times to be in a very different movie than are Rickman and Fiorentino. But, in the last analysis, it is an extremely funny good time to be had, with special mention of the very effective use of music in this film.

The plot: A woman finds faith and meets a weird bunch of celestial characters, while she helps save existence by stopping two angels heaven-bent on re-entering the pearly gates through a hole in church dogma.

The real story: Kevin Smith takes an interesting notion --(the kind that comes to you while you're sitting there, taking care of business), which might have been a hilarious 30-minuteshort film a la Saturday Night Live--and fills it with silly, teen-pandering dialogue and shtick, leaving little room for any sense of a real movie to emerge. Apparently, for many viewers in the target audience, who live in Smith's "View Askew" universe, the simple joy of seeing silent Bob (Smith himself) and Jason Mewes as his horny sidekick Jay, was enough to ensure that "you-gotta-see-it" buzz. But the muddled filmmaking is too crammed with bits, short on meaningful ideas, and surprisingly lightweight in execution.

In fact, if you're uninitiated with Smith's comic books, mammoth website, or the fact that the director favors Skim milk and Nestle's Quik, you may ask--what justhappened? The more you learn about Smith, his previous films, like Chasing Amy (his most "mainstream"), Mallrats, and Clerks, the more it all seems to fit. Sorta. And the more you're along for the ride with Smith, you more you want to root for the in-your-face, rude and childish, irreverent and tasteless humour Smith serves up. I also imagine being under 23 or so helps, but I'd hate to tar youngsters with the same toilet brush.

Yes, Smith had some good ideas. The idea of a pilgrimage to New Jersey to save the world is rich, and according to Smith, God does have a sense of humour. There were funny lines, so Smith does know how to write comedy. He's not afraid to let "Consequences, shmonsequences" sub in for pithy repartee. And there is some acting to be had. The underground garage scene, where Ben Affleck and Matt Damon argue whether their re-entry into heaven is worth the price of existence, was starting to feel like drama. I was suddenly in the movie I wanted to be in--where thepremise was taken seriously, and the fun stuff was black comedy or a part of someone's character. Those two guys can really act together--they stole the film without mucheffort. Then the drama got dropped, and we returned to kiddie land again. More's the pity.

Smith describes the Mooby boardroom scene, where the greedy executives get what's coming to them for idolizing the great golden cash cow, as the "centerpiece of the flick", when I found it wasn't necessary at all. Sure, we got to see Affleck and Damon do some acting, but the writing was stiff and preachy,with nothing of the bite and sting that scene might have had.

The crowd of faces doesn't add up to much. Although the film has women in it, there isn't much about the women (Linda Fiorentino as Bethany, the protagonist, and Salma Hayek, as a muse) that Smith has to offer us in his writing. Jason Lee plays Azrael: his hostage scene which features a Holy Bartender is dead on arrival. Chris Rock plays the 13th apostle, being cast specifically to add some color, and set up a "God is black" joke to add to the God is a woman joke. George Carlin was in bold relief, though, in clerical robes, and his scene unveiling the "Buddy" Jesus with a thumb's up to replace the icon of the cruficied Christ earns a high five. While many viewers may find that offensive, I thought the idea behind it--that religion should be a source of happiness and support--was a central theme of Dogma (if theme there was), and what Smith might have done with more of his film. Too bad he didn't, since he sounds genuinely funny and sharp in interviews ("I'll take the second question first") and, for the most part, at his website. The world could use a bit of lightening up.

Alan Rickman plays Metatron, a seraphim, and the Voice of God--because if God spoke, a mere mortal eardrum (along with the mortal, as five previous Adams proved) would burst. That's a good enough reason for me, or any Rickmaniac. His voice as ever in fine form, the truculence of Hans Gruber has been replaced by a surly tetchyness, and a fondness for tequila. Although the look was meant to be Anglo-rock star glam, Smith should have ditched Rickman's pale pasty-face makeup and black matte hair in favor of the real thing, which would have been more expressive and less icky under restaurant lighting. Rickman needs no make-up to assume the role of a complex thin-skinned seraphim, a show-off on a mission who nonetheless understands that humans can be okay, once you get past the fire extinguisher.

You sense that Rickman liked dropping his trousers (to reveal nada), and ranting over getting his suit dirty. But Metatron's story about telling the boy Jesus what he'd have to go through to save mankind gives a clue to what Rickman can do. Sit up and notice his, "This . . . is who you you are" to a disbelieving Bethany. Later, at the end, Rickman's "Didn't I tell you she was funny?" is also memorable.

One hand of the two hand Rickmaniac rating comes as Rickman walks on water. It's notthe effect, trust me, which is dark and nothing special. Just the existence of a scene like that. The other hand is earned at the end of the film, where I could finally appreciate Simth's "genius": Rickman's hand gets a close-up. In the most tender moment of a film devoid of any real empathy, Rickman makes it clear that Bethany, now mother to the world by saving it, will become a mother herself. A stunner of a hand scene, it's subtle, yet actually pregnant with meaning. (Forgive me my tresspass . . . . ) That's what I called being touched an angel. A truly divine moment, Rickmaniacs.

Fausta thanks Renie for her review.

Please note Dogma is one of the most gory films I've seen, as gory as any Sam Peckingpah film, and more gory than DePalma's The Untouchables.

Dogma is widely available for rent or purchase in VHS, DVD, and DVD Special Edition.

Dogma official film site