While I always enjoy the films of director Kevin Smith it can definitely be said that he is a better writer than director. His fun and outrageous stories are always charming enough that one can look over the lack of creativity with the camera and a tendency to not pull the best from his actors. With Red State
however, Kevin Smith takes a step away from his sophomoric usual and in doing so graduates to the next level of directing.
Red State takes a page from today’s headlines and tells the story of a fringe religious group led by a charismatic preacher hell-bent on ridding the world of wickedness. This group, who protests the funerals of homosexuals, secretly has a much more nefarious scheme underway. When three teenage boys are lured into this sinister web by internet promises of sex, the story is catapulted to a climax of gunfire and death.
The biggest standout for this film from the usual Kevin Smith fare, aside from the darker story, are the performances. Unsurprisingly Melissa Leo is gripping as the matriarch of this religious group, unerringly devoted to their leader and unfailing in her faith that they are doing God’s work. By far the standout performance however is given by Michael Parks as preacher Abin Cooper. He takes this polarizing characters and brings him to life with a charisma and magnetism that keeps you off kilter in your emotional reactions to him throughout the entire film. It would be easy to say that Smith lucked into these performances but the acting by the cast as a whole suggests otherwise.
The distinguishing characteristic of this film that has always been missing from Smith’s other work is nuance. While that may seem ludicrous given the emotional weight of the subject matter and sheer volume of automatic gunfire in this film it is there. Each character has enough layers to come off the screen and elicit the appropriate emotional pull. The pacing is dynamic, slowing down at the right points to keep the freight train from running your over. Here we see a director attempting to illustrate a story which conveys a message rather than bludgeon you to death with an opinion. We’ve seen glimpses of this in his earlier work but this is the first time it is done end-to-end. That being said, Smith fans will still find snappy one-liners and touches of absurdity which keep us all coming back for more of his films.
All in all I say this is a great film which touches on some dark subject-matter without needing to feel like Oscar bait. It is a well told story which shows the faults of all sides of the story and allows the viewer to sort out where they stand and it is for that restraint which Kevin Smith should be applauded most of all.
Red State is out in theaters September 22nd but is available for pre-theatrical viewing through
and
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John
Filmjitsu Rating: 

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