The Dirties

Last updated

The Dirties
The Dirties poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Matt Johnson
Screenplay byMatt Johnson
Evan Morgan
Story byJosh Boles
Produced byMatt Johnson
Matthew Miller
Evan Morgan
Jared Raab
StarringMatt Johnson
Owen Williams
Krista Madison
Cinematography Jared Raab
Edited byMatt Johnson
Evan Morgan
Music by Jay McCarrol
Production
company
Distributed by Phase 4 Films
Release dates
  • January 2013 (2013-01)(Slamdance)
  • October 4, 2013 (2013-10-04) [1]
Running time
83 minutes [2]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10,000

The Dirties is a 2013 Canadian found footage thriller film and the directorial debut of Matt Johnson. It has received praise from critics as well as numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival. [3] Kevin Smith, who helped distribute the film, dubbed The Dirties "the most important movie you will see all year." [4]

Contents

Plot

The film opens with the main characters, Matt and Owen, making a movie about a gang of bullies and the revenge that two victimized students take on them. This project, The Dirties, contains references to a score of other movies such as Being John Malkovich , Irréversible , Pulp Fiction , and The Usual Suspects . Matt is shown being bullied.

Afterwards, Matt asks some members of the student body, as well as faculty members at the school, about what someone should do if they are getting bullied. The students see that getting help is much more difficult than the faculty members perceive it to be. Matt and Owen are then shown editing clips together for their film, during the course of which it is revealed that a popular girl, Chrissy, had a crush on Owen in grade three. Matt and Owen shoot more scenes for their film project, and Matt has Owen attempt to look cool in front of Chrissy to see if she still likes him.

After finishing filming, the rough cut of the project is brought to the film teacher, Mr. Muldoon. The movie is revealed to contain Matt and Owen shooting and killing other students, as well as their teacher, in addition to containing a large amount of expletives. Muldoon demands the film be changed.

The edited version of the film is shown in class, and Matt leaves the room in humiliation, while Owen puts his head down while the rest of the class talks and laughs through the entire movie. On their walk home from school, Owen has a rock thrown at his head. As Owen is icing his head back at Matt's, Matt suggests that the movie would have been better if the two had actually shot the Dirties within their movie with real guns.

Matt erases the script for The Dirties from his whiteboard, and proceeds to begin working on The Dirties II. Owen begins to practice the guitar more in attempts to win over Chrissy, and the boys are shown being bullied some more. Matt then acquires blueprints of his high school from the library for the school project he told them he was doing, which Matt points out was concerningly easy to do, and that his school ID was never even checked. Owen is then shown having a lunch dumped on him and being slapped across the face by another student.

The boys go out at night and create a bonfire, where they reflect on being bullied. Matt measures the lockers and takes photos, which Owen sees as suspicious. Matt says that it is entirely inconspicuous, and goes as far to tell Chrissy that they were planning a school shooting and gets Chrissy's number for Owen. Owen calls Chrissy and says he is at a party, at Matt's suggestion. The two go to a cottage and fire guns together with Matt's cousin, shooting targets consisting of milk jugs, melons, and a propane tank bomb. They bake a cake for Chrissy, and Matt gets upset with Owen for sharing it with the Dirties.

Matt is seen reading Columbine, and checks out six copies of Catcher in the Rye "to seem crazy." Owen gets concerned that Matt's basement has plans and pictures of people he plans to shoot in the movie. Owen tells Matt that he is "always acting" and that he is not always in a movie.

Matt self-diagnoses himself as a psychopath, which he glorifies as he reads Columbine. Owen, having had enough of Matt's attitude, berates him for his attitude towards things, leading to an argument between the two. Matt indignantly responds that Chrissy doesn't care about him and that she exists in Owen's life because of "his plans", but Owen takes a firm stand and asserts that Matt is jealous of him because he has no other friends. Owen then takes off his wireless microphone and leaves, much to the dismay of Matt.

Matt has a conversation with his mother where he asks if she thinks he is crazy. His mom says that crazy technically means that someone loses their ability to tell their thoughts from reality and the real world. Matt goes, alone, to the place where he and Owen had the bonfire and burns all of his notebooks. Owen tries calling Matt, who ignores it. Matt goes to the school with a duffel bag full of his cousins firearms entering through a stairwell. He then sets up cameras, shoots Josh and Jackman, and chases Owen. Matt enters a dark classroom where Owen is cornered trying to open a locked door, Matt simply asks, "What are you doing? It's me!"

Cast

Production

The film had a production budget of $10,000. After finishing production, an additional $45,000 was needed to secure licensing rights for the music used in the film. All the film's financing came "out of pocket." [5]

There was almost no scripted dialogue and several scenes were shot without some of the participants' awareness. [5] [6] [7] The school's real students were informed they were being filmed for a movie but were not told the film's plot or who the crew members and actors were, and the film's cast and crew posed as real-life students enrolled in those particular schools to avoid blowing their cover. [8] The film's ending, however, was staged in a different school that was rented over a weekend. [9]

Release

The Dirties was released by the Kevin Smith Movie Club [10] and has been screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox theater in Toronto. [11]

The film has been released on a limited basis in a DVD/Blu-ray triple disk edition.

Reception

The film received an 81% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 36 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The Dirties uses likable characters and a surprisingly twisted story to deconstruct the power of violent revenge -- and the audience's expectations when viewing it." [12] On Metacritic, based on reviews from 14 critics, the film has a 65/100 rating, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13]

The Toronto Star called The Dirties "a fresh, compelling take on bullying," rating it three stars out of four. [14] The Globe and Mail called it "a bravura debut for an up-and-coming Canadian filmmaker," also rating it three stars out of four. [15]

Accolades

The film was a finalist for Best Canadian Film at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2013, alongside Gabrielle and the eventual winner, Watermark . [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Good Will Hunting</i> 1997 film by Gus Van Sant

Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film tells the story of janitor Will Hunting, whose mathematical genius is discovered by a professor at MIT.

<i>Billy Madison</i> 1995 film by Tamra Davis

Billy Madison is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald, Darren McGavin, Mark Beltzman, and Larry Hankin. The film was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds, and was Macdonald's feature film debut. It made around $26.4 million worldwide and debuted at number one at the box office.

<i>Angus</i> (film) 1995 American film

Angus is a 1995 coming-of-age comedy film directed by Patrick Read Johnson. The cast includes Charlie Talbert and James Van Der Beek in their first film roles, along with Chris Owen, Ariana Richards, George C. Scott, Kathy Bates, and Rita Moreno. Angus is based on the short story "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" by Chris Crutcher, from his collection Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories.

<i>A Dirty Shame</i> 2004 film by John Waters

A Dirty Shame is a 2004 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by John Waters and starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, and Chris Isaak. It follows a community in suburban Baltimore divided between people with highly conservative attitudes towards sexuality, and those who have been turned into sex addicts after experiencing concussions.

<i>The Pledge</i> (film) 2001 film by Sean Penn

The Pledge is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological mystery drama film directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson alongside an ensemble supporting cast of Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Shepard, Mickey Rourke, Tom Noonan, Lois Smith and Benicio del Toro. It competed at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Welcome to the Dollhouse</i> 1995 film by Todd Solondz

Welcome to the Dollhouse is a 1995 American coming-of-age black comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz. An independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and launched the careers of Solondz and Heather Matarazzo. The story follows the unpopular middle schooler Dawn as she goes to extreme lengths trying to earn the respect of her vicious fellow students and her uninterested family. Dawn reappears in two of Solondz's other films, Palindromes and Wiener-Dog while her brother and father appear in the former in addition to Life During Wartime. The film's working title was Faggots and Retards.

<i>The Basketball Diaries</i> (film) 1995 film by Scott Kalvert

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 American biographical crime drama film. The movie deals with drug addiction and its unfavorable outcome in lives of common people. Directed by Scott Kalvert in his feature directorial debut and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by Jim Carroll. It tells the story of Carroll's teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin. Distributed by New Line Cinema, The Basketball Diaries stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, along with Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg in supporting roles.

<i>Charlie Bartlett</i> 2007 film by Jon Poll

Charlie Bartlett is a 2007 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular.

<i>April Showers</i> (2009 film) 2009 American film

April Showers is a 2009 American independent drama film written and directed by Andrew Robinson. It stars Kelly Blatz, Daryl Sabara, Ellen Woglom, Illeana Douglas, Janel Parrish, and Tom Arnold. It is based on the Columbine High School shootings, of which Robinson is a survivor. The film was shot at Plattsmouth High School in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, in May 2008.

Dusty Mancinelli is a Canadian independent filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mancinelli is primarily a director of short films. Several of his films have been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and other notable film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. Since 2017, he has collaborated with Madeleine Sims-Fewer. Their debut feature film Violation was shown at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>The Descendants</i> 2011 drama film directed by Alexander Payne

The Descendants is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the main role, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller in her film debut, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster, and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in the United States on November 18, 2011, after premiering at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011.

<i>Bully</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Lee Hirsch

Bully is a 2011 American documentary film directed by Lee Hirsch and produced by Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen. It documents the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis in U.S. schools. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2011.

<i>Hello Herman</i> American drama film by Michelle Danner

Hello, Herman is a 2012 American drama film directed by Michelle Danner, written by John Buffalo Mailer, and starring Norman Reedus, Garrett Backstrom, Rob Estes and Martha Higareda. It premiered at the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Festival on October 20, 2012.

<i>Central Intelligence</i> 2016 film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

Central Intelligence is a 2016 American buddy action comedy film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and written by Thurber, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen. The film stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart as two old high school classmates who go on the run after one of them joins the CIA to save the world from a terrorist who intends to sell satellite codes.

<i>Diamond Tongues</i> 2015 Canadian film

Diamond Tongues is a 2015 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Pavan Moondi and Brian Robertson. It stars July Talk band member Leah Fay Goldstein as a struggling actress who descends into a downward spiral of depression, narcissism and cruelty.

<i>Operation Avalanche</i> (film) 2015 conspiracy thriller film by Matt Johnson

Operation Avalanche is a 2016 American-Canadian found footage conspiracy thriller film directed by Matt Johnson, who co-wrote the film with Josh Boles. Johnson and Owen Williams star as CIA agents who infiltrate NASA to expose a potential mole, only to become embroiled in a conspiracy to fake the Moon landing portion of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Johnson (director)</span> Canadian actor and filmmaker

Matt Johnson is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He first attracted accolades for his low-budget independent feature films, including The Dirties (2013), which won Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, and Operation Avalanche (2016), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

<i>Night School</i> (2018 film) 2018 comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee

Night School is a 2018 American buddy comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee, produced with Will Packer and Kevin Hart, written by Hart, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells, Matt Kellard, Nicholas Stoller and John Hamburg, and starring Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, and Romany Malco with supporting roles done by Taran Killam, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Al Madrigal, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Keith David, Anne Winters, Fat Joe, Ben Schwartz, Yvonne Orji, and Bresha Webb. The story follows a group of adults who set out to earn their GEDs. The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on September 28, 2018, grossed over $103 million worldwide and received negative reviews from critics.

<i>Our Friend</i> 2019 drama film

Our Friend is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and written by Brad Ingelsby, based on Matthew Teague's 2015 Esquire article "The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word". It stars Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, and Casey Affleck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Miller (filmmaker)</span>

Matthew Miller is a Canadian screenwriter and producer. He is also a contractual university lecturer. Miller's work has been featured at international film festivals and has garnered awards at TIFF, Sundance, and Berlin International Film Festival.

References

  1. ↑ "Release date of The Dirties". Echopicturespictures.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ "THE DIRTIES (15)". Pulse Films. British Board of Film Classification. March 13, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Slamdance Grand Jury Prize 2013". Slamdance.com. January 24, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Quote from Kevin Smith". Echopicturespictures.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Interview with Matt Johnson, Director of 'The Dirties'". Indiewire. September 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ "BLOOD IN THE HALLWAY: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRTIES DIRECTOR MATT JOHNSON AND PRODUCER EVAN MORGAN". Toronto Film Scene. October 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "MATTHEW JOHNSON Director of THE DIRTIES: Exclusive Sarasota Film Festival Interview". March 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Matt Johnson & Matthew Miller Interview - The Seventh Art". The Seventh Art. June 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Matt Johnson - The Dirties Q&A @ Glasgow Film Festival". Glasgow Film Festival. March 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Slamdance Winner 'The Dirties' Acquired By Phase 4 for Kevin Smith Movie Club". Indiewire. May 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Dirties a fresh, compelling take on bullying: review". Toronto Star. October 3, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Dirties". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Dirties Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ Bruce DeMara (October 3, 2013). "The Dirties a fresh, compelling take on bullying: review". Thestar.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  15. ↑ James Adams (October 4, 2013). "The Dirties: A bravura debut for an up-and-coming Canadian filmmaker". Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Critics name Baichwal documentary 'Watermark' best Canadian film". CTV News, January 7, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.