Reviews

While held back from being truly stunning by some pacing issues and some minor script awkwardnesses, Dogma is an enjoyable trip from beginning to end. Smith plays textures like a cardshark - from action sequences to philosophical debates to stoned one-liners to dramatic monologues, the action flows remarkably smoothly for all of the twists that are thrown at it. I was also extremely impressed by the tasteful execution of the more violent scenes, where the graphic aftermath may be shown, but the action happens off-camera. One rough point was that a great deal of dialogue came of as expostiory - there was simply such a massive back-story (2000 years of religious history...go fig...) that it seemed at times that the plot had to fight its way through the background information. One particular shot also irked me - in the Bethany/Metatron scene in the cafe, every time the camera cut back to Bethany, she seemed to be in the exact same pose, and break it in a very similar way. I wonder if this was intentional, or if it was a continuity issue? The casting of God was simply inspired - her appearance was actually one of the highlights of the film. Towards the very end, there were some surprisingly touching moments (of course rendered through Smith's unique style), and the closing scene felt like something right out of a good ol' 80's movie (that's a good thing!). Issues and all, a truly enjoyable film!

Lighting. That's the thing I remembered most from the first time I saw this film. Amazing lighting. Certain directors, Lynch included, are able to tell the story using camera movement, what's seen/not seen. Lynch, however, has taken that a step further with the way he chooses to light his scenes - he sculpts his shots in a manner that seems almost more like a theatrical lighting designer's work. The use of shadows within the home, the stark colors that accompany certain scenes, even the car lighting in the titles - all of this is used to draw the audience's attention to a certain point, and all of it thrills. With the terse, "European art-film" dialogue style (at first the most distancing thing I found in Lynch's work, it is now one of my favorite elements), sharp sound work, a strong cast, and the marvelous, spiralling structure of the film only reinforcing it's strongest feature - its atmosphere - this is a work that will be discussed long after the credits fade. In my short 22 years, the best film I've seen, bar none.