<em>Red State</em>, director’s Kevin Smith’s recent venture, is a mess of a movie, and he should be applauded for it.

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Seriously, I hold Kevin Smith in higher regards after seeing <em>Red State</em>. (It still isn’t a good movie.) He abandoned every crutch from his earlier films—genre, character, dick jokes—and set out to make a film that pushed his creative and technical abilities.  The story sets out on three different narratives—three boys pushing the boundaries of a normal sexual dalliance online, a family that entangles their faith with extreme violence, and an ATF officer who reaches beyond the role that petty politics and rigid government policies play in decision-making. Each narrative takes the time to develop and propose certain theories on how societal structures oppress us.

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The married small town Sheriff who’s gay.

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The daughter who wants to save her siblings, even if it means betraying her God.

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The ATF Agent who follows orders not based on the tactical reality—even if he wants to save the occultists.

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Smith places these characters right on the brink. Almost pushing the audience into different and exciting philosophical and cinematic territory.  Ready to push the film into a clever, thought-provoking examination of the human condition.

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Then Kevin Smith killed it.

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If Kevin Smith was trying to highlight the uselessness of existence, that everything we do here is all for naught because at any point you could inexplicably and arbitrarily die then he succeeded.  All the interesting character and story beats evaporate into nothing.  (Maybe Smith was paralleling the story in Ecclesiastes, and everything is meaningless.)

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Smith sets up to examine the Gods of modern America—sex, religion, and politics—and the frightening similarities that exist between them even as the different sects try to separate them.  He comes right up to the steps of the temple and bails. That’s why <em>Red State</em>—despite all its post-modern genre bending, impressive acting, and beautifully crafted dialogue—fails. At the moment it is ready to really challenge its audience—and creator—it backs off. Too scared to examine the implications of its story.  Too uncertain of the structures it wanted to challenge, and instead comes back to the strong and certain ground of blood and gore.