HotDocs 2010: And Everything is Going Fine (a documentary on Spalding Gray)
| May 3, 2010 | Posted by caroline under arts and literature, media |
Truthfully, there are three HotDocs 2010 documentaries I’d been most eagerly awaiting: “And Everything is Going Fine,” on monologist Spalding Gray, “Anne Perry – Interiors,” about the crime writer’s murder past, and “Blank City,” an exploration of punk rock in 1970s New York.
So far, I’ve caught only one out of the three films — “And Everything is Going Fine,” Steven Soderbergh’s tribute to Gray using interview clips and excerpts from performances. Using the timeline of his life to tell Gray’s story, Soderbergh captured him in many introspective moments, some in which one would imagine the man would want to be left on his own. He was, however, a poetic journalist, as he put it — always documenting everything for the public to see.
The film was tremendously personal and riveting. This is not surprising, however, considering the artist chose to let us into his life from day one, sharing stories and anecdotes from experiences throughout his career. It covered Gray’s relationships with his parents and how they influenced his work, a history of depression and loss, and his love affairs and challenges ushering in family life.
He lived his life to what seemed the fullest extent, reveling in and chuckling at the good and bad. Watching him cower against death in those last few minutes, however, was heartbreaking for the viewer. In his last years he suffered injuries from a car accident that left a scar on his face. This car accident seemed to be the only thing that trampled on and perhaps stifled his experience, making everything painful. He could no longer practice openly the catharsis of expression, living as a “witness,” as he referred to it, instead of telling his story.
Prior to that accident, Gray opened himself up and opened others up (via interviews) on stages across the world, winning awards and accolades throughout his career. A few lines in the film stood out for me, including one during an interview in which he referred to life and his career as such: ‘the plane has landed, the sun is up.’ I would love to describe the last few and most pivotal scenes of the film (just when I thought the man had given us all he had), in which he is caught deep in thought, considering his surroundings. I found this documentary to be one of the most moving things I’ve watched in years and can only wish now that I had caught one of his performances live.
As I walked home from the theatre, the song I couldn’t stop listening to in relation to “And Everything is Going Fine” was LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great.” Soderbergh was dead on with his depiction of this inspiring theatre practitioner and truly great poetic journalist — one who made wonders out of reality, honoured life and paid homage to each breath, battling suicidal urges and reflecting on every moment as a splendour. As a fellow artist and journalist, I think it is important to share his story and for all to learn from him.
For aspiring actors/poetic journalists (cause, like, they’re one and the same, DUH!), here is what I’ve walked away with:
(paraphrasing from my notes during the film)
Write in a journal. Gray wrote in one for several years, allowing it to form a “photographic memory.” He let it sink in after he experienced it, and months later he would create monologue masterpieces out of his writing. Often, it would start as a true story and then get filtered through his imagination.
