Retro Film Review: Gummo (1997)

The author of this review tries very hard to avoid ratings inflation. In other words, I'm very careful when it comes to giving the highest possible ratings to films. As a principle, film which is recently released never gets highest possible rating. This is reserved only for films that were made years or decades ago and thus had time to prove their real value. With the films that are opposite of them situation is much simpler. What was inexcusably bad waste of celluloid immediately after premiere is likely to remain inexcusably bad waste of celluloid decades later. I'm quite certain that Gummo, 1997 drama written and directed by Harmony Korine, belongs to such category.

Korine became famous as young author of screenplay for Kids, controversial film that gave disturbing and shocking insight into unhealthy lifestyles of some American teenagers. In his directorial debut Korine goes further and portrays even more disturbing characters and the way they spend time. Plot, or what goes for plot, is set in Xenia, Ohio, small town that was ravaged by tornado in 1970s. Community has never recovered and most of the children, left without parental supervision and any hope for meaningful future, indulged in sex, drug abuse, animal cruelty and the most depraved forms of social pathology.

There were some critics who called Gummo "brave", "uncompromising" or "powerful". There were some who tried to portray this film as ultra-naturalistic depiction of American realities Hollywood never touches. There were even some that called Korine a genius. Most of those views probably tell less about film and more about people who expressed them. Like in too many similar cases, mere straying from conventions of mainstream Hollywood or good taste is mistaken for the important work of art.

Problem with Gummo is that it isn't particularly original or even as shocking as his author would like to believe. Everything that sets Gummo apart from "normal" films - lack of plot, cinema verite style of film making, use of non-professional cast, ultra-bizarre characters and ultra-nasturalistic portrayal of the most depraved human acts possible - was, in one way or another, employed in other films decades ago. Needless to say, in all of those cases, people behind camera were either more talented or more experienced than Harmony Korine. And, unlike Gummo, all those films had something called purpose. That purpose was either to point towards some issues or simply to entertain the audience in some unorthodox way.

The only purpose in Gummo is to shock viewers into belief that they are watching work of art. The audience willing to endure this atrocity could be shocked only with the sad realisation that Korine honestly believed that he could get away with it. The acting in the film is bad, the direction is bad, hardly anything happens in the film and what happens is less shocking than utterly boring. No matter how hard Korine tries, parade of physically and mentally handicapped people is gradually less shocking as the film approaches its end. When the end comes, Gummo has already lost its purpose and most viewers have endured most unpleasant hour and half of their lives.

RATING: 1/10 (--)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on March 23rd 2004)

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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/18415-gummo
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