View source for The Dirties


{{Infobox film
| name           = The Dirties
| image          = The Dirties poster.jpg
| alt            =

| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Matt Johnson (director)|Matt Johnson]]
| screenplay     = Matt Johnson<br />[[Evan Morgan (filmmaker)|Evan Morgan]]
| story          = Josh Boles
| producer       = Matt Johnson<br />[[Matthew Miller (filmmaker)|Matthew Miller]]<br />Evan Morgan<br />[[Jared Raab]]
| starring       = Matt Johnson<br />Owen Williams<br />Krista Madison
| cinematography = [[Jared Raab]]
| editing        = Matt Johnson<br />Evan Morgan
| music          = [[Jay McCarrol]]
| studio         = [[SModcast Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Phase 4 Films]]
| released       = {{Film date|2013|01||[[Slamdance Film Festival|Slamdance]]|2013|10|04|ref2=<ref name="Release Date">{{cite web|url=http://www.echopicturespictures.com/?my_portfolio=dirties-trailer |title=Release date of The Dirties |publisher=Echopicturespictures.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-28}}</ref>}}
| runtime        = 83 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 82:43--><ref>{{cite web|title=''THE DIRTIES'' (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/dirties-film|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514170841/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/dirties-film|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 14, 2014|work=Pulse Films|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=March 13, 2014|accessdate=May 14, 2014}}</ref>
| country        = Canada
| language       = English
| budget         = $10,000  
}}
'''''The Dirties''''' is a 2013 Canadian [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage]] [[comedy-drama]] film and the directorial debut of [[Matt Johnson (director)|Matt Johnson]]. It has received praise from critics as well as numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 2013 [[Slamdance Film Festival]].<ref name="Grand Jury Prize 2013">{{cite web |url=http://slamdance.com/AUDIENCE-AND-GRAND-JURY-PRIZES-ANNOUNCED-FOR-2013-SLAMDANCE-FILM |title=Slamdance Grand Jury Prize 2013 |publisher=Slamdance.com |date=2013-01-24 |accessdate=2014-04-28 |archive-date=October 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011154910/http://www.slamdance.com/AUDIENCE-AND-GRAND-JURY-PRIZES-ANNOUNCED-FOR-2013-SLAMDANCE-FILM |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Kevin Smith]], who helped distribute the film, dubbed ''The Dirties'' "the most important movie you will see all year."<ref name="Kevin Smith Quote">{{cite web|url=http://www.echopicturespictures.com/?my_portfolio=dirties-trailer |title=Quote from Kevin Smith |publisher=Echopicturespictures.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-28}}</ref>

==Plot==
High school students Matt Johnson and Owen Williams are making a film project (''The Dirties'') about a gang of bullies and the revenge that two victimized students take on them. Matt is shown being bullied.

Afterwards, Matt asks some members of the student body, as well as faculty members at the school, about what someone should do if they are getting bullied. The students see that getting help is much more difficult than the faculty members perceive it to be. Matt and Owen later edit clips together for their film, during the course of which it is revealed that popular girl Chrissy had a crush on Owen in grade three. While shooting more scenes, Matt has Owen attempt to look cool in front of Chrissy to see if she still likes him.

After finishing filming, the rough cut is brought to the film teacher, Mr. Muldoon. The movie is revealed to contain Matt and Owen shooting and killing other students, as well as their teacher, in addition to containing a large amount of expletives. Muldoon demands the film be changed.

The edited version is shown in class, and Matt leaves the room in humiliation, while Owen puts his head down as the rest of the class talks and laughs through the entire movie. On their walk home from school, Owen has a rock thrown at his head by two students. As Owen is icing his head back at Matt's, Matt suggests that the movie would have been better if the two had actually shot the Dirties within their movie with real guns.

Matt erases the script for ''The Dirties'' from his whiteboard, and proceeds to begin working on ''The Dirties II''. Owen begins to practice the guitar more in attempts to impress Chrissy. The boys are eventually bullied during gym class. Matt then acquires blueprints of his high school from the library for the school project he told them he was doing, which Matt points out was concerningly easy to do, and that his school ID was never even checked. Owen then has a lunch dumped on him and being slapped across the face by another student.

The boys go out at night and create a bonfire. Matt measures the lockers and takes photos, which Owen sees as suspicious. Matt says that it is entirely inconspicuous, and goes as far to tell Chrissy that they were planning a school shooting and gets Chrissy's number for Owen. Owen calls Chrissy and says he is at a party, at Matt's suggestion. The two go to a cottage and fire guns together with Matt's cousin, shooting targets consisting of milk jugs, melons, and a propane tank bomb. They bake a cake for Chrissy, and Matt gets upset with Owen for sharing it with the Dirties.

Matt is seen reading [[Columbine (book)|''Columbine'']], and checks out six copies of ''[[Catcher in the Rye]]'' "to seem crazy." Owen becomes concerned about Matt displaying his plans and pictures of people he plans to shoot in the movie in his basement. Owen becomes frustrated due to Matt’s constant obsession with acting out movie scenes and his inability to let his guard down and be a real person.

Matt self-diagnoses himself as a psychopath, which he glorifies as he reads ''Columbine''. Their friendship deteriorates as Matt becomes aggravated with Owen communicating with Chrissy and becoming more social—while Owen becomes fed up with Matt's erratic and antisocial behavior—leading to an argument between the two. Matt indignantly says that Chrissy does not care about him and that she exists in Owen's life because of "his plans", but Owen takes a firm stand and asserts that Matt is jealous of him because he has no other friends. Owen then takes off his wireless microphone and leaves, much to the dismay of Matt.

Matt asks his mother if she thinks he is crazy. His mom says that crazy technically means that someone loses their ability to tell their thoughts from reality and the real world. Matt goes, alone, to the place where he and Owen had the bonfire and burns all of his notebooks. Owen tries calling Matt, who ignores it. Matt goes to the school with a duffel bag full of his cousin's firearms entering through a stairwell. He then sets up cameras, shoots Josh and Jackman, and chases Owen. Matt enters a classroom where Owen is cornered trying to open a locked door, Matt asks, "What are you doing? It's me!"

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Matt Johnson (director)|Matt Johnson]] as Matt
* Owen Williams as Owen
* Krista Madison as Chrissy H.
* Brandon Wickens as Jackman
* [[Jay McCarrol]] as Mr. Bird
* Josh Boles as Boozy
* [[Shailene Garnett]] as Krissy B.
* Alen Delain as Alan
* Paul Daniel Ayotte as Laren
* Padraig Singal as Boy in Park 1
}}

==Production==
The film had a production budget of $10,000. After finishing production, an additional $45,000 was needed to secure licensing rights for the music used in the film. All the film's financing came "out of pocket".<ref name="Indiewire">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/matt-johnson-the-dirties-nirvana-the-band-the-show-locarno-film-festival |title=Interview with Matt Johnson, Director of 'The Dirties' |publisher=Indiewire |date=September 5, 2013}}</ref>

There was almost no scripted dialogue and several scenes were shot without some of the participants' awareness. The school's real students were informed they were being filmed for a movie but were not told the film's plot or who the crew members and actors were, and the film's cast and crew posed as real-life students enrolled in those particular schools to avoid blowing their cover.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etpCCuSbqDA |title=Matt Johnson & Matthew Miller Interview - The Seventh Art|publisher=The Seventh Art |date=June 16, 2013}}</ref> The film's ending, however, was staged in a different school that was rented over a weekend.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JHR3aKvWBY |title=Matt Johnson - The Dirties Q&A @ Glasgow Film Festival|publisher=Glasgow Film Festival |date=March 4, 2023}}</ref>

==Release==
''The Dirties'' was released by the [[SModcast Pictures#Kevin Smith Movie Club|Kevin Smith Movie Club]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/slamdance-winner-the-dirties-acquired-by-phase-4-for-kevin-smith-movie-club |title=Slamdance Winner 'The Dirties' Acquired By Phase 4 for Kevin Smith Movie Club |publisher=Indiewire |date=May 6, 2013}}</ref> and has been screened at the [[Bell Lightbox|TIFF Bell Lightbox]] theater in [[Toronto]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/10/03/the_dirties_a_fresh_compelling_take_on_bullying_review.html |title=The Dirties a fresh, compelling take on bullying: review |publisher=Toronto Star |date=October 3, 2013}}</ref>

The film has been released on a limited basis in a [[DVD]]/[[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] triple disk edition.

==Reception==
{{Expand section|date=January 2018}}

The film received an 81% "fresh" rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 36 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "''The Dirties'' uses likable characters and a surprisingly twisted story to deconstruct the power of violent revenge -- and the audience's expectations when viewing it."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dirties/ | title=The Dirties | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=February 19, 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], based on reviews from 14 critics, the film has a 65/100 rating, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-dirties | title=The Dirties Reviews | publisher=[[Metacritic]] | accessdate=May 14, 2014}}</ref>

The ''[[Toronto Star]]'' called ''The Dirties'' "a fresh, compelling take on bullying," rating it three stars out of four.<ref name="Toronto Star Review">{{cite web|author=Bruce DeMara |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/10/03/the_dirties_a_fresh_compelling_take_on_bullying_review.html |title=The Dirties a fresh, compelling take on bullying: review |work=Thestar.com |date=2013-10-03 |accessdate=2023-02-19}}</ref> ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' called it "a bravura debut for an up-and-coming Canadian filmmaker," also rating it three stars out of four.<ref name="Globe and Mail Review">{{cite web|author=James Adams |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/film-reviews/the-dirties-a-bravura-debut-for-an-up-and-coming-canadian-filmmaker/article14644239/ |title=The Dirties: A bravura debut for an up-and-coming Canadian filmmaker |publisher=Theglobeandmail.com |date=2013-10-04 |accessdate=2023-02-19}}</ref>

===Accolades===
The film was a finalist for Best Canadian Film at the [[Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2013]], alongside ''[[Gabrielle (2013 film)|Gabrielle]]'' and the eventual winner, ''[[Watermark (2013 film)|Watermark]]''.<ref>[https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/article/critics-name-baichwal-documentary-watermark-best-canadian-film/ "Critics name Baichwal documentary 'Watermark' best Canadian film"]. [[CTV News]], January 7, 2014.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|2334896|The Dirties}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|the_dirties|The Dirties}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=The Dirties}}

{{Matt Johnson}}
{{VFCC Award for Best Canadian Film}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirties, The}}
[[Category:2013 films]]
[[Category:2013 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Canadian black comedy films]]
[[Category:Canadian teen films]]
[[Category:Canadian comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:Films about bullying]]
[[Category:Films about school violence]]
[[Category:Films set in schools]]
[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]
[[Category:Canadian independent films]]
[[Category:SModcast Pictures films]]
[[Category:Found footage films]]
[[Category:2013 black comedy films]]
[[Category:2013 independent films]]
[[Category:2013 English-language films]]
[[Category:2013 Canadian films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:Films about mass shootings]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Dirties|access_date=2026-03-06}}