Greetings,
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of a graphic novel/comic book/whatever you call them, and I believe it was my first of its kind. So, today, in keeping with the spirit of that, I thought I would review a documentary I recently saw about a guy who writes those kinds of books. Also, regular books. And by that, I mean books with all words and no pictures. Good times. Anyway, let's discuss Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously.
This is a 2016 documentary that I didn't even know existed until I was browsing around and just so happened to come upon. Now, I'm not exactly a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's. At least, not in comparison to the hardcore ones, which I will discuss later. Yeah, I've never dressed up as Coraline (in public) or anything, but I have read some of his stuff, and it's impressive. Still have to read all those Sandman books. Which cost a lot for the complete series, so...click the donate button! Yeah, anyway...
As I've mentioned, I love movies about writers, so I had to stop and check this one out. Much of it was what you'd expect from your basic bio-doc stuff. We learn about Gaiman's younger days, which included his love of books and the fact that he was in a punk band. Of course, he was. We also learn about his family life, both past and present. And later, how he got into writing. I'll discuss that in a moment. But a big chunk of this was showing him with his fans. They are very interesting, and he clearly loves and appreciates them all. However, there was a nice, creative twist to how some of the stories of his life were presented.
So, about his foray into writing. He talks about when he realized a writer, and it truly came out of nowhere. That's how it happens many times. That's how it happened for me. AND it also happened to him late at night, when he couldn't sleep. Same here. We have so much in common. Truth is, sometimes your purpose in life just hits you, and I think that's good, because it usually means you didn't force it. You didn't try too hard. If it's your true purpose, that's how it usually works.
Oh, and speaking of things we have in common, apparently, he writes longhand first. He even has a favorite kind of pen. Oh, can I relate to that! Seriously, my fellow writers who still do things long hand, is there anything better than finding a perfect brand of pens? No. No, there is not. Although, due to all the long hand writing of his autograph countless times in a row, he has developed hand issues. Fear not, though. He has found a good remedy. But it is nice to see someone appreciating the written word...being actually written. If you know what I mean.
Of course, we had an array of special guests, none of whom were Tori Amos, which I found odd, but whatever. Still, we got appearances from the likes of Bill Hader, Michael Sheen, George R.R. Martin, and the late Terry Pratchett, with whom Gaiman had a wonderful relationship, both personally and professionally. The most heartfelt moments from this were when he spoke of his friend and how much he missed him.
Now, I have heard some interesting criticisms about this film. One is that it spends too much time focusing on his interactions with fans, and the other is that the documentary does not portray him as, well, a jackass. I even heard the word "niceties" thrown around as though it's a bad thing. Apparently, documentaries are supposed to show their subjects in a not-so-great light. O-kay? Ya know, it is possible that Neil Gaiman is just a nice, normal guy, and that's the only way he could be seen. And too much time with his fans? As I said before, he loves and appreciates all those people. Why wouldn't he want to spotlight their devotion? To be fair, I could have done with a little more delving into his process and how he comes up with stories, but it's not my documentary, and I thought it was done fine.
So, is this movie perfect? No. It has its flaws, and I can understand how some people may want more. But I think if you're one of those hardcore fans, you'll take what you can get when the subject is Neil Gaiman. And considering how popular he is, especially with those who are creative types themselves, I don't doubt that someone will do another movie about him in the future. In the meantime, I personally enjoyed this film, and I think it's worth a watch.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
