Christopher Golon's "Knock 'Em Dead, Kid" And The Importance Of Underground Filmmaking...

By Joshua Ruebl


Christopher Golon’s “Knock Em Dead, Kid,” is representative of a new movement in underground/independent cinema.  Young directors are now completely bypassing the studio system and the ideology-driven apparatus that surrounds Sundance and other festivals.  Instead, they are bringing their craft directly to audiences via avenues such as video-on-demand, you tube, and personal websites.  Filmed in the summer of 2008 with a budget of $3,000 and shown in 2009, it won honorable mention at the Twin Rivers Media Festival.  This is an ambitious start for a young, upcoming filmmaker.

As Hollywood is collapsing and as the world of independent filmmaking is more and more occupied by the privileged, a low budget film such as this is a breath of fresh air.  Though at times hampered by its financial limitations, this film makes the best of the cinema verite and guerilla style, mixing both pseudo-documentary and character studies similar to those of John Cassavetes.  The evolution of this underground form of filmmaking is very important as a counterbalance to the uber-budget features promulgated by the Hollywood apparatus. 

Golon’s film is at once autobiographical and a portrait of youth culture in these fractured times.  He shows the pressures of emerging into adulthood and the difficulties in breaking away from habit and finding one’s own path.  Using unknown actors and working with a minuscule budget, Golon adopts a sense of cinematic realism.  Using limitations as a template, he shows the banalities, the small moments of magic, and youthful angst as he follows his protagonist, Bret (Dirk Julian), through a series of “mistakes,” is forced into adulthood.  In the beginning of the film, Bret, an aspiring film student, along with his friends, violently attack a peer that a female friend accuses of rape.  After this event, his world goes on a downward spiral over the course of a week.  He goes to various parties with his friends, drinks, cheats on his long-term girlfriend with a younger high-school student, and watches as his friends all experience their own personal downfalls in a series of domino-like situations.

The most effective element of this film is its lack of sentimentality.  The current trends in Indie filmmaking have a “social message.”  Even though this piece on occasion flirts with having a straightforward message, it is more concerned with showing us what most young adults experience as they leave behind the confines of their teenage lives.  Similar to Larry Clark’s “Kids” and Catherine Hardwick’s “Thirteen,” this portrayal of youth culture is stark and brutal in its accuracy.

Acting by Dirk Julian, Les Mahoney, Chad Post, and Michael Resendez are the highlights of the piece.   Low-budget filmmaking requires dedication from an unpaid cast, and all the actors in this film give raw, open, courageous performances.  In art it is true that the “more money you throw at something, the more your problems go away.”  This type of filmmaking is fraught with struggle and Golon and crew rise to the challenge.   Between scripted and improvised dialogue, the actors lend a sense of naturalism to counterbalance the unconventional and expressionistic editing.  

Overall, this sort of filmmaking needs to be supported an encouraged.  The democratization of the form requires dedication on the part of audience, crew, and cast alike.  It is important that our society support young directors in their endeavor, especially those who seek to bring an artful response to the struggle of living.  I highly recommend seeking out Christopher Golon’s “Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid” and to support underground filmmaking.


The film can be purchased here for purchase or rental:


http://www.amazon.com/Knock-Em-Dead-Kid/dp/B002OS1NOI


IMDB Entry:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408384/





http://www.joshuaruebl.com/24/post/2013/10/christopher-golons-knock-em-dead-kid-and-the-importance-of-underground-filmmaking.html