The Dirties

Here's a conversation I had with Trevor just now about The Dirties, and more specifically about Matt Johnson, who made The Dirties and also Nirvanna the Band the Show.

Trevor
ah, you saw the Dirties
seems like you're torn on it

Steve
i did!
i am
i love matt johnson in nirvanna the band the show
which, have you seen that? have we talked about that?

Trevor
i have not
we have not

Steve
its one of my favorites of the year so far

Trevor
i havent even seen this movie

Steve
ah okay

Trevor
i just know kevin smith helped distribute it

Steve
yes
he loved it

Trevor
and he interviewed the kid and all
he did
i think he was also impressed by the indie nature of it

Steve
matt johnson has a very distinct and inventive approach to filmmaking
which is essentially, "do not use actors. use real people who don't know they're acting."

Trevor
not a bad approach
get some authentic performances

Steve
"the most human reactions to things come from people making those earnest reactions in real time"
right
and there's a found footage nature to everything, then
with cameras recording in secret, or discretely
and even for the people who are in on the act, the people who know theyre making a movie
matt johnson will just record scenes over and over, all kinds of ad-libbing, to get the actors involved to a point of exhaustion or frustration
and he'll cobble 4 hours of shooting into a conversation that flows naturally for 30 seconds
its all very interesting and when i watch his stuff im always thinking in the back of my mind, "but how much of this is real? how much was scripted?"
and i think part of the beauty of all that is, you can't really tell, you can't really know
and he takes advantage of that

Trevor
interesting

Steve
and i thought nirvanna the band the show was one of the funniest things ive ever seen because of that
like clearly all these men on the street giving him blank stares are unaware theyre in a movie or a show
but some people have clearly been told theyre in a movie, or been paid to be an extra in one, but they don't know what's coming
anyway, the dirties is matt johnson taking this approach... and using it in a high school
to end up at a school shooting

Trevor
yeah, that was the first thing he did, right?
just watched the trailer for NTBTS
looks good

Steve
theres a webseries from like 2009 on youtube
and thats okaya
nd then theres a viceland show from earlier this year and it's fantastic
and i can't push it hard enough on people like you and sweeney
did you watch nathan for you?

Trevor
i did
it was too cringe-worthy for me
but i respect that it is brilliant

Steve
this is almost as cringey
well no, it isnt, i take that back
now that i remember some of nathan for you
but it uses similar elements, like getting an unplanned and unprompted reaction and just letting that moment breathe, and keep going
anyway, why im torn on the dirties is, in NTBTS, this is all hilarious
but in the dirties its used in this dark and depressing way
where matt plays an eventual school shooter
and he hires a few extras to play bullies and occasionally make fun of him or slap him around in the hallways
and you can see the kids just sort of ignoring it
and it's very uncomfortable
and i just felt so bad for any of the kids not in on the joke, the act, etc
so im not sure how well the approach works when it's not played for laughs
i mean its effective, maybe even too effective, but it feels... dirty
hey-o!

So yeah, that's more or less how I feel about The Dirties - respect the hell out of Matt Johnson's innovative and provocative techniques, but not sure I love the way this whole project made me, uh, feel. (Unlike Nirvanna the Band the Show, which is a goddamn riot, and yes I will keep pushing this show until someone else out there gives it a shot!)