While not as celebrated as Clerks, Dogma remains Kevin Smith’s most sophisticated and intriguing film to date.
One wasQuentin Tarantino, whose sophomore featurePulp Fictionmade high-art out of lowbrow exploitation.
The other wasKevin Smith, who famously funded his debutClerksentirely on a credit card.
Decades later, both Tarantino and Smith continue to work in the industry.
Moreover, Smith is best loved today for his affable personality and appearances at comic cons and on podcasts.
But anyone watching his fourth feature in 1999 might have seen the shift coming.
It is Smith at his crossroads and his quintessence.
One of them wears Hellboy on his jersey.
Thats a lot of plot, even in the simplified form above.
Yes, Jay shouts snoochie boochies, but we also get Rickman sneering, You humans.
Expected as these moments might be,Dogmaalso includes plenty of straightforward dialogue about the nature of religion.
That said, the clunkiness of these moments only underscore their sincerity.
But the real appeal inDogmais its central duo, Bartelby and Loki.
Loki is a true believer, whose frustration with God forced him to walk off the job centuries earlier.
