Red State - Maria's Take

I have to give Kevin Smith some credit. He took a risk and also took full control of his own work. However, having said that, the new, "edgier" work he produced with "Red State" feels more like a step backwards than anything else. Before I review, I just want to restate that I give Kevin Smith some credit for stepping outside his comfort zone and working on a very ambitious, albeit overall amateur work.

The first words out of my mouth as the credits rolled were, "Well, that was very on the nose." There was nothing subtle nor innovative about the film. Characters were flat and most offensively misused. The acting was pretty decent. I think Melissa Leo always has the slightest tendency to overact and try too hard to steal whatever scene she is in. Michael Parks gave a good performance, but his character had little depth and was simply evil. What bothered me about the Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) character was there was simply no justification for his cartoonishly evil persona. I understand blind faith, but Abin had a weird, warped sense of morality. Kevin SMith asked far too much of the audience. We had to instantly buy that these people just read The Bible too literally and felt it necessary to murder those who are not perfect. I needed more story.

The writing was mediocre at best. Characters shifted loyalties without any explanation, plotlines went nowhere, and the whole film felt like a teenager's rant about religious zealots and corrupt government. Smith starts several different storylines, but ends them before they can get legs. Many of the storylines are far too convenient, and Smith is constantly telling the audience what is happening without any attempt at showing things. I understand John Goodman is a terrific actor, but he doesn't need to spend the last twenty minutes of the film explaining scenes Smith, for whatever reason, felt were unnecessary to film. There are a couple of instances where I felt completely ripped off--it is like if a death in a slasher movie happens off screen--something gets lost.

As we were discussing this film during the credits, I tried to make some analytical sense of what I had just seen, but it seemed unfair that I felt compelled to do so. There were many moments that appeared to be Kevin Smith attempting to channel the Coen brothers. Unfortunately, something got short-circuited in the wiring, because even the worst Coen brothers movie would put this disappointing film to shame.

I actually feel a little guilty for disliking this film so much. I am a big fan of Smith's and this one was more painful than the release of "Cop Out." He never promised that movie to be anything more than it was, but this film he was touting as the defining film of his career.

I do appreciate his attempt to stretch himself as a director and challenge his comfort zone. I think he had an interesting premise, but the execution failed to be anything more than a bizarre, overwrought siege film.