Clerks

UK Release Date. 5 May 1995
Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hour 32 mins
Director. Kevin Smith
Cast. Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, Kevin Smith, Lisa Spoonauer.
Rating. 66%

Review.

Amidst the aftermath of grunge and capitalising on the zeitgeist of successful US independent cinema, the likes of Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers and Fresh, Kevin Smith released his impressive debut feature, Clerks.

The epitome of low-budget, Clerks was allegedly filmed and produced for $27,000. Smith wrote, directed, edited and produced the film himself. He even appeared in the film as one of the more memorable characters, Silent Bob. At the time, the film had a small box office run but quickly gained a cult following through VHS distribution, particularly amongst the MTV generation.

Entirely driven by dialogue, Clerks is structured in a series of short, punchy episodes inspired by the three cantiche of The Divine Comedy - Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory) and Paradiso (Paradise).

The film takes place over the course of 24 hours and centres on two main characters - Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), an affable, good-natured convenience store clerk and his friend Randall Graves (Jeff Anderson), a particularly foul-mouthed employee of the video store next door.

In contrast to Dante and Randall, the two female lead characters, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti) and Caitlin (Lisa Spoonhauer) are both strong, determined, independent leads, eager to better their prospects through education.

Anchored by impressive performances from the two central characters, the acting erstwhile is universally appalling. Many of those on-screen are friends of Smith. And it shows, most sound like they are speaking lines rather than living the dialogue. Yet the film's undoubted charm wins through. Whether it be drug dealer Jay's (Jason Mewes) seemingly pointless screen time or Randall's razor-sharp monologues and musings, all is forgiven. Of its time, the 'slacker' dialogue is near perfection.