It's strange to see an Errol Morris film that works and doesn't work all the same. The film is short, maybe too short, and doesn't really take much time to going into much of what the town of Vernon is about, or if these interviewed are its only residents. There's no unifying theme though to the work, which is the basic problem, as Morris at his best (Thin Blue Line with the stylization and depth of reasonable doubt in true crime; Gates of Heaven with loss of life as a means to understand what human nature is all about; Fog of War about knowing limitations and understanding mistakes made in history; Fast Cheap & Out of Control with the process and joys of a job well done), as it's simply a series of interviews with the residents. Maybe, as one person here pointed out, it's that everyone has a story. But, not to be modest, you sometimes can't understand what these people are saying anyway in their storytelling.
But at the same time, as Morris just goes about with his very unobtrusive and expert eye for human detail (the detail, anyway, of people at their goofiest and more sincere), it's very funny to see these backwoods folk and old guys tell their everyday stories and tales of hunting turkey and other animals. Favorite scenes would include: the preacher, who is part-time a laborer and part-time an obsessive word nut, specifically the word 'therefore' as it appears in the bible and what it means; the guy with his pet tortoise, who he tries to get to move around by gentle kicks, and also with his wild possum; the simple coot who's got one tooth and plenty of pictures of possible life elsewhere with clouds and stars in the sky. Morris doesn't shy away from these idiosyncrasies that one can find right away in the not-quite-Deliverance parts of the deep south, and watching the film with an audience is an added treat, to see who may laugh at who doing what.
At the end, there aren't really any big ideas to take away from the film, at least on a first viewing, and it may be a little repetitive for some- or maybe not, as it may hit so close to home that it's a likely candidate for best documentary about a town with population 40. It's a little quirk of a doc-comedy that's worth it for Morris fans, but far from being any kind of masterpiece.
But at the same time, as Morris just goes about with his very unobtrusive and expert eye for human detail (the detail, anyway, of people at their goofiest and more sincere), it's very funny to see these backwoods folk and old guys tell their everyday stories and tales of hunting turkey and other animals. Favorite scenes would include: the preacher, who is part-time a laborer and part-time an obsessive word nut, specifically the word 'therefore' as it appears in the bible and what it means; the guy with his pet tortoise, who he tries to get to move around by gentle kicks, and also with his wild possum; the simple coot who's got one tooth and plenty of pictures of possible life elsewhere with clouds and stars in the sky. Morris doesn't shy away from these idiosyncrasies that one can find right away in the not-quite-Deliverance parts of the deep south, and watching the film with an audience is an added treat, to see who may laugh at who doing what.
At the end, there aren't really any big ideas to take away from the film, at least on a first viewing, and it may be a little repetitive for some- or maybe not, as it may hit so close to home that it's a likely candidate for best documentary about a town with population 40. It's a little quirk of a doc-comedy that's worth it for Morris fans, but far from being any kind of masterpiece.