Dirty Pictures

I don’t even know where to begin with this film because it was so good. This is the first film I’ve seen at SXSW 2010 that really blow me away. Not only is it a fascinating subject for a documentary, but the film itself is quite incredible to watch. It’s rare that I am at a loss, or I don’t quite know how to express myself, but I feel like that now. This film to me was an example of how documentaries should be made. It really exceeded my expectations and constantly surprised me. The sheer filmmaking technique in this one film is like taking a college course on documentaries. Let’s get to the specifics.

“Dirty Pictures,” is about chemist Alexander Shulgin, who it’s clear from this film is one of the most brilliant minds of his time. He has dedicated his life to creating new synthetic compounds and testing their psychedelic effects on his own brain. He is also responsible for the popularization of MDMA, or Ecstasy. The film begins with a lot of back story shown through different clips from television that have been reconstituted. But at the heart of the film is the life of this one brilliant chemist and his wife, and their impact on the world of chemistry and the fields of neuroscience and pharmacology. It does address the negative effects of what happens when people co-opt his research and proliferate drugs throughout society in an irresponsible way, but for the most part there is really only one chemist to express an opposing viewpoint and by the end even he is won over and it is revealed that Shulgin is one of his closest friends. The film also somewhat addresses the failure of the war on drugs, but only briefly and of course through the personal story of Shulgin. The film is very complex, but always returns to the life of its protagonist, which is its core. I was never even for one second bored during this film, it is constantly engaging.

The one thing about the film that was the most amazing part was the editing. The way that the film would incorporate jump cuts to infuse the film with energy and insight was really brilliant. The technique of cross cutting between two parallel conversations, or even cross cutting through time that was used very deliberately, it was really just phenomenal. If the editor of this movie ever reads this I cannot stress to you enough just how perfect a job I think you did. This is a great film and a great documentary and it was really astounding. If you ever have the means or the opportunity to see this film, please go and make it a success because I want to see a lot more work just like this.