Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2017
Images from the Internet
For the Love of Spock
Written and directed by Adam
Nimoy
455 Films / FilmRise / Gravitas Ventures
/ MVD Visual
111
minutes, 2016
As
I am assuming is true with most people other than die-hard trekkers who are
bulletin-boarded to the pulse of all things Star
Trek, I first heard about this documentary about Leonard Nimoy, the Prime
(first) Spock, from an episode of Big
Bang Theory, where Sheldon is interviewed by Leonard’s son, the director
Adam Nimoy.
As
for Spock and Leonard, I was 11 years old when “Star Trek” first started
playing on television. Even though I missed the second season due to being
banned from TV for a year thanks to lipping off at my dad, of course over the
years I caught up to all the episodes. Back when they were first run, and I was
a pipsqueak, I didn’t realize the social implications of the stories (e.g., “I
am black on the right side… Lokai is white on the right side. All of his people
are white on the right side!” from the “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”
episode), so it was just as enjoyable a sci-fi show as “Lost in Space.” By my
mid-teens, I knew better (but still liked both shows).
In
1972, thanks to then-new pal Bernie Kugel, we went to the very first Star Trek
convention, held at the Hotel Pennsylvania (then known as the Statler Hotel).
The doors were late opening and there was a larger crowd than expected by the
organizers jammed in together at the ballroom door, testily held waiting.
Bernie, being Bernie, out of nowhere and with lack of context (i.e., bored)
turned to me and in a loud voice said, “What do you mean, ‘Nimoy, who?!’” I
could see the heads of people turning in my direction with daggers. There was
no harm, but I did get sharp glances the whole day. Now I’m completely amused
by it, and Bernie remains Bernie and a BFF, I’m happy to say, and yes I still
have the convention’s program in a box somewhere.
So,
the point is that when I heard about this documentary on Nimoy was in the
works, it made me happy. And now I get the chance to review it!
As
the film starts, the launching point is Nimoy’s death in 2015, and works its
way back to the beginning. A key component is the director placing himself into
the story. I find this doesn’t always work in other films, as it tends to
misdirect the attention away from the subject in an egotistical way (much like
the beginning of this review), but in this case, Leonard is not just a subject
that the director is focused on, being his son he is integrated into the story, and so it works.
The
early part delves into the start of Nimoy’s career rather than his childhood (a
good move), which includes an interview with his brother. Funny thing is, his
brother bears a strong resemblance to his Spock friendemy, Dr. McCoy/DeForest
Kelley. Most of the family, in fact is represented here, including Adam’s
sister (though not Leonard’s widow/second wife).
Y’know,
I’m not gonna go into super detail here, because even at nearly two hours, this
kept my interest throughout, except for the exceptionally long list of Kickstarter
contributors during the final credits, because I have a life, but it still made
me smile knowing that so many people wanted to be involved with this project
(i.e., hundreds of names).
But
I’m getting ahead of myself. This incredibly inclusive film has tons of
interviews, with previous cast members, writers, etc., of various “Star Trek”/Star Trek releases, from the television
shows (including William Shatner, George Takei [aka the great Mr. Meme],
Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig) and films (such as Chris Pine, Zoe
Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and of course Zachary Quinto). There’s also
Jason Alexander, who is apparently a “Star Trek” expert!
There
are lots of film clips, from public and private speaking engagements, and conventions
(including by fans and cos-players). The production also wisely alternatives
between the linear and themes, so we learn about how the iconic “Spockisms”
came about, such as the eyebrow-raise, the Vulcan neck pinch, the mind meld, and of course the “Live long
and prosper” Vee symbol. Also, Adam nicely mixes information of Nimoy the actor
and Spock the character, showing how they intertwined.
There
is room for another documentary here on things that were mentioned in passing,
including his music career, his books (e.g., I am Not Spock; I am Spock; collections of poetry), his photography
art (some of his images are shown, but as they are not Spock related, and due
to time I’m sure, they are merely glanced upon, again rightfully so).
Personal
information about the Nimoys abound that I did not know, such as Leonard being
an alcoholic and a sometimes absent father, but by having a gentle and personal
touch, Adam makes him out to be a human rather than a monster (see Mommy Dearest, for example of the
latter), and is also willing to take some of the distancing between them upon
himself.
While
Shatner is the central character and lovingly ribbed in modern culture for his
line delivery, Spock is arguable the most influential of the roles from the
original program, and I certainly believed the most beloved due to his
part-alien/part human “Other” nature. This is also well touched on in the
documentary, as is his stimulus on some people in the present NASA space
program and the likes of scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson (who also
appears here).
Extras
are legion here, starting with the basic chapters and captioning in multiple
languages. Then there are the featurettes. It starts off with the 28:37 “Leonard
Nimoy’s Boston,” also produced and directed by Adam. It had been recorded for
PBS as part of a series. It’s a really fine annotation to the feature film,
because where the main documentary is a bit shy of early pre-Leonard history,
this certainly makes up for it in an interesting way. We follow Adam and
Leonard as they walk around the city, especially the West End where Leonard was
raised, and we see the before neighborhood
through pictures, and the after of
the urban renewal that just about wiped out the entire area. It’s both a great
autobiographical history as well as a lesson on the culture of Boston and what
happens when the government uses eminent domain, as New York and Robert Moses
did with large sections of the southern Bronx. It was shot four months before
Leonard passed.
Next
is the 9:15 short “On the Set of ‘The Big Bang Theory,’” which intertwines the
post-mortem-Leonard appearance of Adam on the television show. Interviewed are
the cast and crew who discuss not only Adam’s role, but the influence of
Leonard/Spock on the series writ large. Continuing this theme is the 15:25
“Tribeca Panel,” where Adam, Quinto, “Access Hollywood” producer Scott Mantz
and the Nimoy film's executive producer David Zappone appeared for questions at
the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016 after the showing of the documentary. Then
there is a 4:24 “Trivia Time with Jason Alexander,” a fun piece of fluff as he
answers trivia questions about all things “Trek” from both television and film
versions (though mostly the original series).
The
5:54 “Kickstarter Gallery” is a series of pictures of people who contributed to
the campaign. Following this are two trailers, for the Tribeca Festival and the
Theatrical one. Last is the full-feature-length commentary by Adam, Zappone,
and Mantz. It is one of the better commentaries I’ve heard in a while. The
three participants are respectful of each other and the topic at hand, never
talking over each other or trying to showboat, they discuss anecdotes about
both the film and the original television show, talk about the personalities of
the actors on the set, and little known trivia (outside of Trekkers, of course).
As
a side note, I was noticing how much Leonard looked like David Bowie towards
the end of Nimoy’s life, and how one of the songs over the final credits is Bowie’s
“Spaceman.”
Adam
did an amazing job with this “Spock doc,” as he calls it in the commentary,
keeping the interest of the viewer by not sticking on a single style of theme,
yet keeping it cohesive and sensible.
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