Today I’m gonna talk about Clerks III, which is a 2022 film written, produced, and directed by Kevin Smith.
Beforehand, I want to say that I am not a professional film critic. I simply express my subjective thoughts (although can thoughts be objective?).
I must also say that I am a big fan of Smith’s films about clerks. I’ve watched the first two parts many times. They made such an impression on me that I started my filmmaking experiments. At the same time, I was waiting for a sequel, which Smith periodically hinted at, but he was in no hurry to start it. Instead, he did some weird movies like Tusk or Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. But finally. But finally, the turn came to Clerks 3.
I didn’t like the first act. What I saw was pretty sad: some old unpleasant men, who were trying to act with youthful enthusiasm, just like before, when they were teens.
The second act also made a rather strange impression. The action was similar to Kaufman’s story New York New York, a kind of Mobius strip.
But even more sad is the realization that I am in the same condition as them, and I look pretty the same.
It is noteworthy that a person does not notice how he is aging and his body condition is deteriorating significantly. Because every day he sees himself in the mirror and almost does not notice the changes. But in the cinema, if you see actors of different ages with an interval of 10–14 years, this creates a sharp contrast.
Halfway through the film, it began to seem to me that Smith could do nothing but self-quote. Several times I intended to turn it off, but I still decided to watch it out of respect for the author. And I wasn’t wrong. The third act changed everything.
It pleased me — the end of the film was very powerful.
With this ending, all these references to the previous movies get meaning. Characters are reliving those moments, trying to answer questions that were not answered then.
I can say that each director shoots, figuratively, one big film, just with different actors and characters. But the main theme is almost always the same, with minor changes. But this only happens if the director himself changes. It can be said that any storymaker comes to earth with questions that he could not solve in a past life. And with the sins that he could not correct. And through making the films, he is trying to find answers and change himself. But finding answers is easier than changing. Fear and desire keep a person like a dog on a leash.
That nostalgia that I was counting on — I felt. The fact that Smith called many of the previous actors from his previous films was a very good decision. This creates a kind of film universe. Well, in general, it was interesting to look at how people have changed in more than 30 years. And of course, Smith’s characteristic humor is good as well.
It must be admitted that over the past 30 years, Kevin Smith has grown as a director and transformed as a person.
I will try to assess the main parameters of the film that seem important to me using a 1–10 point scale.
Selection of Actors 8
Innovation 6
Soundtrack 8
Title 8
Final 10
Total 8
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