Dogma

A woman is charged by God to stop two exiled angels from exploiting a loophole in Catholic dogma that could unmake creation.

Dogma marks a turning point for writer-director Kevin Smith; while his narrative and dialog skills have matured to near perfection, his visual sense is just beginning to take shape. Script-wise, the narrative and dialog are top-notch. The narrative is engaging and well-paced, the characters are well developed, and the dialog—while not realistic—is entertaining in a Chandler-esque way.

Visually though, the film stumbles. Though the low budget doesn’t help, the real problem is that Smith just isn’t a visual director; a fact he’s acknowledged several times in interviews. His tendency to tell his stories through dialog rather than action causes Dogma to drag in a few spots, but never for long.

The casting is near perfect. Only Salma Hayek and Linda Fiorentino seem less than born to play their respective roles. In Salma’s case this is forgivable, since hers is little more than an extended cameo, but Fiorentino has to carry the movie and at times, lacks the charisma to pull it off. Janeane Garofalo, who has a brief cameo, would have been a much better choice.