Scene Anatomy 101 01.02.08: Dogma

Posted by George H. Sirois on 01.02.2008

We’re kicking off 2008 with an “Oscar Clip” moment…



There was a moment in the 1992 film Wayne's World, in which Wayne was asking Cassandra if he's supposed to be a man and let her walk away. He then splashes water on his face to make it look like he's crying and, as he pretends to bawl his eyes out, the words "OSCAR CLIP" appear at the bottom of the screen.

It's a very funny moment in a movie full of them, but it's also a moment that gave me an idea for a future series of columns. See, the Academy recognizes only a select few films out of the hundreds that are released each year for its excellence in writing, directing and acting. But they consistently fail to put the spotlight on a group of other movies out there that have that one exceptional scene that really nails it on every level. No matter how the rest of the movie turned out, there's still that one scene that can be used on any writer/director/actor's reel as an example of them at their best.

Case in point, a movie that I have a lot of fondness for as a whole, the 1999 Kevin Smith film…



I'm a fan of Kevin's, as a lot of guys in my generation. I enjoyed Clerks, laughed at Mallrats and really got into Chasing Amy. But I have a deep fondness for Dogma, since just like him, I was raised Catholic and have had more than my share of questions about the Faith. What Kevin is able to accomplish with this film is face those questions that he had about Catholicism, bring in new viewers who are fans of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman and Salma Hayek, and at the same time satisfy fans of his earlier works with Jay & his hetero-lifemate Silent Bob (Jason Mewes & his hetero-lifemate Kevin Smith) playing major supporting characters. (Fans also get to see familiar faces like Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson in cameo appearances.)

The story focuses on two fallen angels Loki & Bartleby (Damon & Affleck) who discover a loophole that can get them back into Heaven. The loophole comes in the form of a new church that is opening up in New Jersey that has an arch behind its front doors that would allow anyone to pass through it a morally clean slate. If Loki & Bartleby trans-substantiate themselves into humans, enter the church and then come out and die, they can't be kept out of Heaven. Unfortunately for the rest of us, them getting back in would prove God wrong and therefore undo everything that has been created since the beginning of the universe.

An angel known as the Metatron – or "the voice of God" (Alan Rickman) – has contacted a woman named Bethany Sloane (Fiorentino) to track down these angels and stop them. Two prophets – Jay & Silent Bob – come along with her for the ride, with the neglected 13th Apostle (Chris Rock) and an earthbound muse (Salma Hayek) joining them on the way. At the same time, a demon named Azrael (Chasing Amy's Jason Lee) has sent a trio of stygian youths to keep Bethany and Co. from getting to Loki & Bartleby since he was the one who informed them of the loophole that could get them back into Heaven. (He's not a fan of Hell at all; he'll take the end of all existence anyday.)

It's a simple story, but told in a very complex manner since Kevin's dialogue consistently brings up all of the different problems that he has had with Catholicism for the past couple decades. And he also uses this opportunity to bring up interesting subjects on religion that haven't been tackled yet, one being if angels possibly resent the position they are in as servants to the Almighty.

And that's where this particular scene comes in. Throughout most of the film, we have seen Loki live up to his old moniker as the Angel of Death and shooting down anyone that has violated any of the Ten Commandments and Bartleby advising him not to get too involved in this killing spree. The closer they get to the church in New Jersey, the higher the stakes are getting, and Azrael himself makes this known to Loki & Bartleby when he tells them that the Last Scion – Bethany – has been tapped by Heaven to stop them. (The Last Scion means that she is the last living blood-relative of Jesus Christ.)

Things finally reach their breaking point between the two angels when they find themselves on the same train as Bethany, the Apostle and Jay & Silent Bob. This is the first time that we see Bartleby engage in any sort of violent act, when he holds a broken bottle up to Bethany's throat. Throughout the film, it's been Loki that has been the aggressor, but that's not the case here, and with this new more threatening demeanor comes a different look in Bartleby's eyes that Loki doesn't recognize.

After they are thrown off the train by Silent Bob, Loki & Bartleby enter a nearby parking garage. Bartleby is showing signs of total frustration while Loki is now starting to doubt if this mission should be accomplished.

LOKI: The Apostle is here!

BARTLEBY: I noticed.

LOKI: Well, then you know who the chick with him was…

BARTLEBY: The Scion, I'd imagine!

Bartleby keeps walking as Loki stops. For the first time since this mission began, he's scared about where they're going and what's going to happen.

LOKI: Shit man! Maybe we should rethink this whole thing! I mean, you heard the guy - he said there were consequences. And Azrael tells us we're marked. Look, there is more to this than we thought about.

Bartleby's not even listening to Loki's worries. He's lost in his moment back on the train, when he broke the bottle on the table and put it up to Bethany's throat. He can actually feel a rush while thinking about it.

BARTLEBY: I was so close. You know, I'm so close to slitting that bitch's throat. And you know how I felt? Righteous. Justified. Eager, even.

That wild look in his eyes that he had before has come back, and Loki's getting even more nervous when he sees them.

LOKI: You alright, man? Your eyes are kinda…

BARTLEBY: My eyes are open! For the first time, I get it. When that innocent girl let her mission slip, I had an epiphany.

It is during Bartleby's explanation of this epiphany when he brings up one of the issues that Kevin has with the class structure of Heaven. It's something that's never been brought up before in any scriptures or mentioned in any homily, and I'm surprised that nobody else mentioned it earlier.

BARTLEBY: See, in the beginning, it was just us and Him. Angels and God. And then He created humans. Ours was meant to be a life of servitude, and worship and bowing and scraping and adoration. He gave them more than He ever gave us. He gave them a choice. They choose to acknowledge God or choose to ignore Him. All this time we've been down here, I've felt the absence of the Divine presence. And it's pained me... as I'm sure it must have pained you, and why? Because of the way He made us. Had we been given free will, we could choose to ignore the pain... like they do. But no, we're servants!

Basically, what Bartleby is saying is similar to what characters in The Matrix go through when they discover that they have been living in a dream world. Because of the way angels have been made, questioning commands wouldn't enter their minds. But now all of a sudden, those very questions have entered Bartleby's mind and he can't even fathom how he could have years any differently.

LOKI: You know, all I'm saying is that maybe one of us could use a nap.

Bartleby claps his hands really loud in front of Loki's face. He's looking for anything that could make his old friend see what he now sees.

BARTLEBY: Wake up! These humans have besmirched everything He has bestowed upon them. They were given paradise; they threw it away. They were given this planet; they destroyed it. They were favored best among all His endeavors; and some of them don't even believe He exists. And in spite of it all, He has shown them infinite fucking patience at every turn. What about us? I asked you – once – to lay down the sword, because I felt sorry for them.

We know of this act already because of what the Metatron told Bethany when he first charged her with the quest to stop Loki & Bartleby. Here, we see that Bartleby takes full responsibility for the two of them being in this situation, and hopefully by going in this direction, he'll persuade Loki to see things his way again just like he did all those years ago.

BARTLEBY: What was the result? Our expulsion from paradise. Where was his infinite fucking patience then?! It's not right! It's not fair! We've paid our debt! Don't you think it's time? Don't you think it's time we went home?

Bartleby has been looking in Loki's eyes for this entire chunk of dialogue, but now he looks away and even steps away from his old friend. What he has to suggest should be simple for an "Angel of Death," but he's aware of the state Loki's in now and he's sure this may not go over well.

BARTLEBY: And to do that, I think we may have to dispatch our would-be dispatchers.

As expected, Loki's shocked to hear this suggestion and he's not thrilled with it.

LOKI: Wait, wait, wait - kill them?! You're talking about the Last Scion, for Christ's sake! And what about Jay and Bob - I mean, those guys were alright.

Bartleby looks back at Loki and points at him, warning him not to make the same mistake that he did, the mistake that got them into this situation in the first place. He also attempts to placate Loki by saying the very same thing that he said when he first suggested going on the killing spree. As long as their mission is accomplished, it doesn't matter what they did before passing through the arch.

BARTLEBY: Don't. Don't, my friend. See, don't let your sympathies get the best of you, as they did me way back when. It did me once. Scion or not, she's just a human. And by passing through that arch, our sins are forgiven. "No harm, no foul."

As Bartleby looks away from Loki, a chill goes up Loki's spine as this kind of talk has been getting way too familiar for him.

LOKI: My God, I've heard a rant like this before.

Bartleby turns back towards Loki.

BARTLEBY: What did you say?

LOKI: I've heard a rant like this before.

Bartleby points accusingly at Loki. Not his friend who has been with him for all these millennia. He's not going to accuse him of talking like him.

BARTLEBY: Don't you fucking do that to me.

LOKI: You sound like the Morning Star.

BARTLEBY: You shut your fucking mouth!

LOKI: You do! You sound like Lucifer, man! You've fucking lost it! You're not talking about going home, Bartleby! You're talking about fucking War on God!

This whole situation is not what Loki had in mind at all. All he wanted to do was go home and get back into God's good graces while he was at it by taking up his old role. This kind of attitude that Bartleby has towards God – this insistence on getting in just to spite their master – is not what he signed up for.

LOKI: Well, fuck that! I have seen what happens to the proud when they take on the throne! I'm going back to Wisconsin.

Bartleby reaches out and grabs Loki, slamming him against the wall. This is going to happen, whether Loki likes it or not.

BARTLEBY: We're going home, Loki! And nobody, not you, not even the Almighty Himself, is going to make that otherwise.

This scene has so much going for it that I'm surprised it was never seen as an award-nominated clip. First, to satisfy Kevin's critics, the camera isn't in one place for too long. The actors are moving around the garage, as is the camera, so visually the scene doesn't get stale in any way. Secondly, the script is so strong because it toes the line between being dialogue that keeps the action moving and Ben Affleck speaking Kevin's problems with Christianity, and yet somehow keeps itself from falling over to the soapbox side.

And of course, you have Ben and Matt themselves, two old friends that are obviously very comfortable acting with each other. Here their chemistry takes center stage. Nobody else is in this scene with them, and as their voices get louder, they echo through the cold and empty garage.

If this was Loki who had come to this realization, this scene wouldn't have any of the impact it has. Loki had to be coerced by Bartleby into quitting his role as the Angel of Death in the first place, and we see throughout the film that he hasn't lost his touch when it comes to unleashing God's wrath. Bartleby, in the meantime, has been taking the role of a passive watcher since the dawn of eternity and he had enough sympathy for humans to stop Loki from continuing his job.

But now, the positions have changed. Sure, Loki wasted a boardroom full of men and an adulterer on a bus, but his yearning for doing whatever it took to get home has been diminished when he realizes how steep the consequences of their actions are.

Bartleby, in the meantime, has gotten the urge to lay waste to anyone who stands in their way at the worst possible time. He knows how forces on both sides are starting to bear down on them, and that is making his thirst to go home even greater. And it's not just to get back with their fellow angels; it's to say, "That'll show Him." While Loki understands that getting back to Heaven will prove God wrong, Bartleby would like nothing more than to prove Him wrong.

All of those elements come into play in this one scene, this one moment that captures what Dogma is all about. The two major characters are all alone here, their mission is made clear, we see what this mission has done to the both of them already, and we are told some very controversial opinions about mankind and the class structure of Heaven. Put it all together and you have this "Oscar Clip" moment that stands out as my very favorite scene in a film that I enjoy very much.

Now, it's up to you readers. What other movie do you think should be recognized for that one "Oscar Clip" scene that comes together so well? All of your suggestions should go into the Comments box, and as time goes on, those scenes will be covered here in future Scene Anatomy 101 columns.

Until next week, Class Dismissed!


-- George H. Sirois