The Dirties review

Imagine Gus Van Sant’s Elephant laced with meta-movie mischief and the result might resemble Canadian first-timer Matt Johnson’s promising but patchy provocation. Johnson and Owen Williams play brash/sweet movie geeks whose student film project about bullying pivots on Tarantino-ish gun fantasies.

When Matt finds real guns, the mock-doc set-up turns murkier and messier. In-jokes, debating points and audience-implicating games pile up without adding up. As Johnson enters Columbine-style turf, a clearer slant on our modern mindset is required than the one he offers.