THE DIRTIES (2013) by Matt Johnson
Details
"Remarkable as much for its insights as for its audacity, The Dirties approaches school violence with a comic veneer that slowly shades into deep darkness." - Jeannette Catsoulis (The New York Times)
"The story transitions from a believable portrait of young culture junkies into a showcase of Matt's burgeoning rage so well that it practically implicates viewers in the process." - Eric Kohn (IndieWire)
"The Dirties feels authentic all the way through, and it carries a bitter punch. It is a slight movie in terms of actual events that happen, but it grapples with some giant ideas and emotions in a very effective way." - Drew McWeeny (Hitfix)
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[Steve]
How to describe THE DIRTIES: part found-footage documentary about two high-schoolers making their own found-footage movie within-the-movie, part examination of the nature of bullying, part love letter to cinema, part revenge movie, all the while being incredibly entertaining, comedic, and emotionally affective.
I honestly have no idea how writer/director/actor Matt Johnson's mind works, but it's difficult to argue that he and co. have a style all their own when it comes to filmmaking. Johnson blends conflicting tonal and thematic elements in his films, which is part of why I love his style so much: what appears messy and chaotic on the surface, becomes meaningful and fluid by its culmination.
If you're unfamiliar with Matt Johnson, THE DIRTIES, his debut feature film, is a great place to start. THE DIRTIES won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival (a film festival in Los Angeles that centres around emerging artists: the fact that a Canadian indie with no known actors and a production budget of $10,000 won the festival's highest honour is nothing short of amazing). For what it's worth, writer/director/actor/podcaster/etc. Kevin Smith used his namesake at the time to promote the film, stating that THE DIRTIES is "the most important movie you will see all year."
We'll work our way through Johnson's small but mighty filmography (mostly) chronologically: we'll discuss his films in chronological order, however, for those who wish to join me, we will venture to either the Guelph Galaxy or the Princess Cinema Twin (whichever theatre is playing it) on a break weekend to see Matt Johnson's latest film NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2025): https://meetu.ps/e/PN112/QXGlQ/i
NIRVANNA is a continuation of both his web series and television show of the same name: you really don't need to know anything about either of them though, so don't worry if you're unfamiliar (I've only seen clips myself). The film premiered at SXSW 2025 initially, while it premiered in Canada as TIFF 2025's Midnight Madness opener, where it won the People's Choice Award.
We'll follow-up THE DIRTIES with Johnson's other two films OPERATION AVALANCHE (2016) on February 8 and BLACKBERRY (2023) on February 22.
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Join us Sunday, February 1 at 10am at the Red Brick Cafe for our first discussion of Matt Johnson month.
You can watch the film for free at this link:
https://youtu.be/HNgXth2koIk?si=4RogYmYkYQvSKHmk
Happy watching! 📹