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| Movies,
Graham Bower,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F5
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It's a bold man who uses religion as a theme for creative endevour. It's a bolder man who chooses to find the funny side of people's faith - such a man is director Kevin Smith who's new film 'Dogma' is an iconoclastic hoot.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are a pair of Angel's who are currently in God's bad books and banished from heaven. Roaming to earth, they stumble across a way to get back into heaven - the only downside is that all creation will be destroyed in the process. At this point, Alan Rickman steps in to brief Linda Fiorentino with the task of saving the world. That's where things just start to get complicated.
Drawing from numerous sources, including the bible, Catholic dogma and Dante, Smith brilliantly conceives a thoroughly researched concept that is utterly compelling... sorry, am I going on a bit? That is, afterall, a criticism that has been levelled at Dogma, and Kevin Smith's other movies (Chasing Amy & Clerks) - they do "go on" a bit. They're too wordy, too many long dialogues, and they're visually pedestrian. Well, how anyone can claim a movie with Salma Hayek and Ben Affleck in it has nothing to look at I don't know, but it's true that the visual's don't steal the show here - the scene of mass carnage at the end happens (disappointingly) off camera. But there are some nice visual touches - especially in the costumes. The casting is inspirational - Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are perfect fallen angels, and Alanis Morrisette makes a unique God.
This movie is neither anti-religious nor anti-Catholic, but it's certainly not precious about using Christianity as a vehicle for story telling. In fact the idea is intensely moral, but without sentimentality or moralising. Few movies could get away with God arriving at the end to sort everything out without feeling pompous, but somehow Dogma gets away with it.
UK rating:
15
US rating:
R
Kevin Smith 1999 USA
Ben Affleck , Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek Jason Mewes Alan Rickman
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