Wow. This was an amazing film. I have a lot to say about it but I will keep my thoughts concise. The topic of school shootings is obviously a sensitive one, given that it happens too often these days, but I think it's an interesting subject. There's obviously a lot to explore in regards to the people who do it, and this film has an interesting take on it.

To start off, it's kind of a different film from other school shooting films like Zero Day or Elephant that have a serious and somber tone throughout. This movies starts off quite funny. I laughed quite a lot. It has kind of a "nerdy high school kids movie" kind of feeling. It also includes lots of references to films, since the main characters are film fans themselves, allowing for captivating scenes such as the final credit sequence that gives nods to other films in a way I won't spoil.

The characters are displayed in a quite realistic way. The humour in the beginning makes you bond with them and kind of like them, so when things start to get serious, you care what happens. They aren't shown in a way that seems stereotypical, they just seem like real guys you would know, and maybe even be friends with. That makes it all the more disturbing. As someone who graduated high school last year (at the time of this review),I can relate to the setting of high school, and while I wasn't bullied, nor did I witness bullying on this level, I can still understand how it would happen. The interactions between characters feel like real high school interactions. There are some pretty good performances here.

The ending may not be everyones cup of tea, but I think it solidifies the theme of friendship throughout the film. The whole buildup at the end made the tension feel unbearable. I won't spoil that, but I could feel my heart beating and I felt actually nervous about what was going to happen, and when a film can do that, I give is massive credit. I highly recommend this film. (Bonus points cause I think it's Canadian)

A great example of low budget indie filmmaking that succeeds without ever truly taking off, the Kevin Smith supported The Dirties is a sufficient comedy, a love letter to cinema's influence and also a sometimes scarily accurate portrayal on alienation and bullying that can sometimes turn deadly.

Written and directed by Matt Johnson and starring Johnson and Owen Williams, The Dirties was clearly a labour of love for the two budding filmmakers and the rawness of their film that moonlights as a real documentary, does often make it feel legitimately like a true life doco even if there's little reason for the cameras to be around at certain stages in the narrative.

Johnson and Williams share a great on screen chemistry together and it's obvious their real life affiliation as friends has carried over to The Dirties and their love for film shines through in many of the films scenes. From classics through to modern contemporary pieces of entertainment spotting the many varied references that are spread throughout the film would be quite the job and it's interesting to contemplate the influence films have on certain people in certain situations and Johnson's character of Matt's increasingly unstable mind is a product of not only films but years of torment at the hands of school yard bullies.

The dealings of The Dirties, with its titular group of nasties, is both its blessing and its curse. There's an important message here of tolerance and acceptance but never once throughout this tale are you wondering where things are going to end up and for a film that has a particularly strong opening act the last stanza (and in particular last scene) of the film's final half hour or so feels a tad underwhelming and certain scenarios feel harder to take such as the "cool" kids sudden acceptance of William's awkward Owen or the fact no one cares to stop Matt from becoming increasingly unhinged.

The Dirties is a small film with a big message and while emotionally it doesn't exactly hit a home run, the film turns a fairly generic plot line into something unique and wholly watchable and it will be a great joy as movie fans to see where Johnson and William's next project might take them.

3 creepy cousins out of 5

Director Kevin Smith, who released The Dirties through his self-proclaimed "movie club," has called the film "the most important movie you will see all year" and he isn't wrong. The Dirties is a harrowing look at a subject no one wants to explore and that is the school shooting. Here is a film that takes such a subject and subverts it to the point of being believable and so naturalistic it possesses a rare documentary-style. The fact that it will go largely unseen by the public is a crime.

The film stars Matt Johnson, who also serves as director, co-producer, and co-writer, as Matt along with Owen Williams as Owen, two senior film geeks in high school. They are making a film project about a lawless gang called "the dirties," which is also the name they give to the school bullies who humiliatingly beat them up and harass them whenever they get the chance. When their film project on the gang is gutted by their film teacher for its excessive use of violence and language, Matt suggests they come up with a film where they actually kill the bullies in their school. Like, for real. Owen believes Matt is joking but quietly consents to devising the mad plan for the "fun" of it.

Owen, however, comes to the realization that Matt isn't fooling around. He has resorted to taking pictures of the people that bully them, trace rooms and the bullies' schedules on the blueprints of the school he obtained at the town village, and talking openly about the potential of his carnage with Owen as if he's achieving personal enjoyment from it. Matt makes it clear he doesn't want to go after everyone in the school; just those who caused him and his friend untold misery by mocking them when they were nothing but harmless and obeying.

First-time director Johnson employs the popular film school tactic that will either captivate or alienate you upon its arrival and it's the shaky camera. The camera is obviously hand-held and held very loosely it is. Never does it restrict the environment, as it always seems to capture the right images at the right time. The effect only furthers the already naturalistic acting and dialog in the film. Much of the dialog, like many indies nowadays, was improvised and in a school setting focusing on two kids, one of whom is quietly out of control, this seems like the only method to achieve success through dialog.

It's also worth noting that Johnson's unsteady camera-hand always provides for an unsettling environment. It's hard to make a public school ominous, but with bullies and an unstable character in the forefront, along with directing that reserves as much as it shows, it's not too difficult. The film is so successful at being unsettling thanks to its camera-work that when the inevitable occurs it's almost not as frightening as what we've already indulged in. Then the last line is said that will ring in your head for days to come.

The Dirties works best thematically because it doesn't try to justify its characters, its antagonists, its events, or its cultural importance. It doesn't look to provide answers because there are no clear one. It doesn't look to embellish or sensationalize because it knows this kind of event occurs, unfortunately, very often. It doesn't become politically-partisan, blame mental illness, blame the quality of parenting, or blame news and media. It simply shows the depressing and shocking effects bullying can have on a soul.

A heartbreaking scene comes when Matt and Owen are talking about how they've been bullied for many years but still haven't really learned to cope with it. Matt states that one day, in middle school, he was putting quarters in a vending machine when someone made fun of his dated sweatpants. Matt remarks about how he walked away with fifty-cents credited on the machine, not even putting more money in or walking away with any food or drink. It was the first time he was bullied for being himself, and the pain and torment hasn't ceased since then.

Constantly I was reminded of Gus Van Sant's Elephant, a highly-impressionistic film that based itself off of the tragedy at Columbine High School. The film featured little dialog, pretty empty characters, and scenes that didn't blatantly say their purpose - all of which an intentional tactic on Van Sant's part. The film was harrowing in its simplicity and compelling in its suspense that something was about to happen that was going to affect hundreds of young people differently. The Dirties exercises in a more open fashion, but, thankfully, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. At only eighty-minutes, it had the power and impact on me I don't usually get from films two hours or longer.

NOTE: The Dirties is now available on various video-on-demand outlets and will receive a DVD release later this year.

Starring: Matt Johnson and Owen Williams. Directed by: Matt Johnson.