I'm a bit late writing this review as I have been fairly busy with work, but its here now!
I went to see Red State the other day; it is the new feature from Director Kevin Smith (formally known for Jay and Silent Bob and Zack and Miri Make a Porno).
The dramatic change in genre that Smith has taken is pretty unbelievable, fans of his will probably be surprised to find out that Red State is his. I for one wasn't aware the piece was his until I arrived at the cinema. In this review I am going to talk about details of the film and also themes throughout, so if you haven't seen the film you may wish to look away now (I'll try not to give to much away!).
First of all I would like to mention the cast of Red State, because the performances throughout are very convincing. John Goodman, or my first reaction 'It's Fred Flinstone!', is Joseph Keenan an ATF agent in the US. He is known for being the voice in many animations for Pixar and the likes, but also films such as The Big Lebowski and series such as Roseanne. His performance in the film is superb, with the story being pretty mundane from his characters point of view, the realisation of the bigger picture is portrayed wonderfully. Still, he brings an element of comedy through the role, with crude comments following the killing of his colleague.
Goodman isn't the main character, but he levels with the lead of Michael Parks who plays Abin Cooper.
The insanely disturbed Abin Cooper is a fundamentalist believing in God's ways, a bit too extremely. Parks allows himself to become this figure at the forefront of an inbred family church, and has power over all of his family and followers. The torturing and tormenting throughout the film are results of 'wrong doing' on the victims parts. Basically they are against homosexuality, sex, drugs and rock and roll by the sounds of things. He encourages mutilation to show what will happen to you if you do these criminalities. I was actually disturbed by his character, because it makes you think, in the south of the USA, are there still people who do such things? And then the reality of the story hits home.
Of course, religion is the biggest theme in this film, visible from the repetition of subliminal and sometimes obvious crosses. I mean they are everywhere in this film! Again the obvious lies in the church in which these fundamentalists practice. I do like how religious Abin Cooper's speeches are and how he quotes the bible and other notable texts. The way in which he uses hard facts of what Christians believe in makes the film seem more like a documentary. I know this sounds crazy, but even in the way it is shot, there is a voyeuristic aspect of the film much like a documentary. Again, how the film portrays the 'bible belt' country of America is unnervingly realistic. Toward the end of the film of course, Smith resorts to his usual tricks of comedy and allows the agents to eventually joke about the situation that the Christians got themselves into. This could be tongue and cheek to some people, but being a non-believer I thought it was pretty funny!
I want to talk more about camera work. Knowingly, Smith has used low angle shots of the priest (Michael Parks) to suggest the power that he has over his followers. And also the area in which he places the camera allows us as an audience become part of the following and viewing Parks from that point of view. He also has the camera angles looking down upon the victims of the church. For example, when two of the teens that they capture are in the basement, the view we have is down through the hatch in the floor, this to me connotes that these 'criminals' are below the church. In a sense that they do not deserve to be on the same level that the believers are. Finally, an interesting bit of camera work is used when Goodman is sitting in the back of his van on the phone, we can see him but then we can also see all of the chaos going on behind him. I liked this shot because it related the two scenes without having to cut from one to the other.
An underlying theme in the film that I picked up on was the relation to the US government, it may be unintentional, however very interesting. The US government is renowned for covering up stories to make things run smoother in the country, whether it be small incidents or more prominent issues (e.g. Twin Towers alleged cover ups). Not to spoil the film, but another cover up occurs whereby the government needs to dispose of wrong doers without going through the courts. This 'war on terror' still occurs on their home turf, and so the US government uses this device to cover up such incidents to do with firearms, etc. Post 9/11 theory comes in to mind when talking about terrorism in the US. Of course we all know the country has become very high alert since the incidents on 9/11 and this theory supports the idea that American government is paranoid, to say the least.
Shall we skip to the verdict? Well for me this film was a refreshing change, as it wasn't your typical action/thriller, I felt it brought more to the table. The way in which Smith used his previous experience to create a film he says was inspired by Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ was awe inspiring. If you are interested in films that have deeper meaning, make you think and allow you to become immersed, then I suggest you watch Red State. I give the film 10/10, for amazing camera work and acting performance. Not to mention the disturbing but interesting story plot!
Speak soon!
First of all I would like to mention the cast of Red State, because the performances throughout are very convincing. John Goodman, or my first reaction 'It's Fred Flinstone!', is Joseph Keenan an ATF agent in the US. He is known for being the voice in many animations for Pixar and the likes, but also films such as The Big Lebowski and series such as Roseanne. His performance in the film is superb, with the story being pretty mundane from his characters point of view, the realisation of the bigger picture is portrayed wonderfully. Still, he brings an element of comedy through the role, with crude comments following the killing of his colleague.
Goodman isn't the main character, but he levels with the lead of Michael Parks who plays Abin Cooper.
The insanely disturbed Abin Cooper is a fundamentalist believing in God's ways, a bit too extremely. Parks allows himself to become this figure at the forefront of an inbred family church, and has power over all of his family and followers. The torturing and tormenting throughout the film are results of 'wrong doing' on the victims parts. Basically they are against homosexuality, sex, drugs and rock and roll by the sounds of things. He encourages mutilation to show what will happen to you if you do these criminalities. I was actually disturbed by his character, because it makes you think, in the south of the USA, are there still people who do such things? And then the reality of the story hits home.
Of course, religion is the biggest theme in this film, visible from the repetition of subliminal and sometimes obvious crosses. I mean they are everywhere in this film! Again the obvious lies in the church in which these fundamentalists practice. I do like how religious Abin Cooper's speeches are and how he quotes the bible and other notable texts. The way in which he uses hard facts of what Christians believe in makes the film seem more like a documentary. I know this sounds crazy, but even in the way it is shot, there is a voyeuristic aspect of the film much like a documentary. Again, how the film portrays the 'bible belt' country of America is unnervingly realistic. Toward the end of the film of course, Smith resorts to his usual tricks of comedy and allows the agents to eventually joke about the situation that the Christians got themselves into. This could be tongue and cheek to some people, but being a non-believer I thought it was pretty funny!
I want to talk more about camera work. Knowingly, Smith has used low angle shots of the priest (Michael Parks) to suggest the power that he has over his followers. And also the area in which he places the camera allows us as an audience become part of the following and viewing Parks from that point of view. He also has the camera angles looking down upon the victims of the church. For example, when two of the teens that they capture are in the basement, the view we have is down through the hatch in the floor, this to me connotes that these 'criminals' are below the church. In a sense that they do not deserve to be on the same level that the believers are. Finally, an interesting bit of camera work is used when Goodman is sitting in the back of his van on the phone, we can see him but then we can also see all of the chaos going on behind him. I liked this shot because it related the two scenes without having to cut from one to the other.
An underlying theme in the film that I picked up on was the relation to the US government, it may be unintentional, however very interesting. The US government is renowned for covering up stories to make things run smoother in the country, whether it be small incidents or more prominent issues (e.g. Twin Towers alleged cover ups). Not to spoil the film, but another cover up occurs whereby the government needs to dispose of wrong doers without going through the courts. This 'war on terror' still occurs on their home turf, and so the US government uses this device to cover up such incidents to do with firearms, etc. Post 9/11 theory comes in to mind when talking about terrorism in the US. Of course we all know the country has become very high alert since the incidents on 9/11 and this theory supports the idea that American government is paranoid, to say the least.
Shall we skip to the verdict? Well for me this film was a refreshing change, as it wasn't your typical action/thriller, I felt it brought more to the table. The way in which Smith used his previous experience to create a film he says was inspired by Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ was awe inspiring. If you are interested in films that have deeper meaning, make you think and allow you to become immersed, then I suggest you watch Red State. I give the film 10/10, for amazing camera work and acting performance. Not to mention the disturbing but interesting story plot!
Speak soon!
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