Crispin Hellion Glover was at the Texas Theatre in Dallas’s Oak Cliff suburb this weekend for a two night event called ‘Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show.’ I have already talked about night one of it, where he showed his film ‘It is Fine. Everything is Fine!’ (See this article for details.)
So here I will speak of night two.
The slide show itself is his performance of a number of books he has. These books are tomes that were originally published in the 18 and 1900’s, and have been reworked by Mr. Glover artistically to go off in new directions than their original authors intended.
The results are quite avant garde and interesting.
Mr. Glover is a very good actor, and as he passionately performs from the tomes, slides from them are shown on a screen behind him. The experience of this is something very original.
(The books that he performs from were available for purchase at the show, and also can be bought from his website www.crispinglover.com.)
When he completed the performance of the slide show, he showed the first film of his ‘It’ trilogy. Besides being an actor and a writer, Mr. Glover is also a director and the creative force behind his company ‘Volcanic Eruptions.’
He funds his film endeavors with monies he makes working on bigger films, such as the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ franchise.
His first film, entitled ‘What is it?’ is the beginning of a series that is followed in turn with his second film, ‘It is Fine. Everything is Fine!’ (See my other article for a breakdown of this film.)
He does have a third film planned entitled, ‘It is Mine.’ (This film has not been shot yet. Mr. Glover said he doesn’t plan on shooting this film for a number of years yet.)
‘It is Fine’ is a more linear film than ‘What is it?’ ‘What is it?’ is hard to describe. It has many distinctive elements to it. One is that the majority of its cast is actors who have Down syndrome.
Glover talked about the casting choices for his films during night one of the tour, and also did so here. In a nutshell, it was his thought to cast people with afflictions in roles where they were playing characters that didn’t have afflictions. Basically, a reversal of what happens when a non afflicted actor plays a character with an affliction. (In the case of ‘It is Fine, it was a matter of casting a lead actor playing a man with Cerebral Palsy who did indeed have CP.)
The rest of the film was something that was hard to fathom at first glance. It involved its main actors killing snails at various points, (something that really occurred), and some racist and Nazi themed content. Shirley Temple was also painted in an unflattering light as well.
I have read online in other places where the film is described as an examination of the lead character’s inner working, his ‘Id’ and what not. (Mr. Glover appears in the film himself as, according to IMDB.com, ‘Dueling Demi-God Auteur, The Young Man’s Inner Psyche and Id.’ )
His role and the film come across as very surreal. Mr. Glover, in the Q and A session that followed the movie, talked about the content in it being designed to touch on taboos.
He did say that it is not intended to be a film about Down syndrome, and in the Q and A there was a lot of discussion about the treatment of the actors who were stricken with it. It was gleaned that Mr. Glover took a lot of care and was concerned for their welfare, and this did come across as genuine.
The sets are in the same vein as ‘It is Fine.’ They are low budget, but elaborate. You can tell that a great amount of care went into their construct.
All in all, the film was an extremely unique experience. Mr. Glover talked about the film being designed to elicit reactions, and the fact that he is showing it in an environment that allows one to talk about it is refreshing. For me, it did help clarify any confusion I had on what it was I was actually watching, and that was appreciated.
Mr. Glover did say that there are reasons why he has not put the film out on DVD. For one thing, he talked about feeling protective of his actors, and not wanting to see footage of them used in ways that would be re edited to be mocking or disrespectful to them. I understand this after having seen the film.
He did talk about the experience of watching the movie being one designed for people 18 and over. I can understand this, in that there are unsettling elements to the film. Keeping it in a scenario where its viewing can be better controlled and talked about does help ensure that younger audiences are less likely to see it, and it can be discussed afterwards with more sophistication.
All in all, the film is an experience I can refer to by again using the word unique. For me, it was confusing in spots, but I do feel fortunate to have seen it. It stays with you.
I got the impression that Mr. Glover wanted to make something that was outside of the norm, and he succeeded.
That it can be dissected and disseminated after the fact is something I feel that is beneficial to it and the experience, and not something seen every day. It is courageous for a filmmaker to creative a project that could be interpreted as controversial and be willing to put himself out there for his audience’s immediate feedback. Mr. Glover does deserve kudos for his personal involvement in its interpretation.
When the Q and A ended, Mr. Glover signed books for fans, and personally addressed any further questions they had about the film and their experiences with it.
In being involved with the show for two nights, I can say that I find Mr. Glover’s slide show to be smart and thought provoking. When given the opportunity to be a part of it, it is something that should not be missed. That Mr. Glover cares genuinely for the thoughts and feedback of his fans is appreciated and does come off as extremely sincere.
He is a nice man. He is gracious and intelligent, and it shows in his interactions with people. It is rare to see not only a celebrity partake in something like this, but to make himself so accessible.
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