A Short Film About John Bolton (2003)
Film:
DVD:

Written & Directed by Neil Gaiman
Starring John O'Mahony, Marcus Brigstocke, Carolyn Backhouse, Jonathan Ross, Denise Worme

Features:

• Running audio commentary with director/scribe Gaiman & actor Brigstocke
  
• Live at the Aladdin: a live reading by Gaiman
  
• "A Short Film About 'A Short Film About John Bolton'"
  
• Photo gallery
  
• "Drawn in Darkness": audio recording of Gaiman reading the writing that inspired the film
  
• Cast and crew bios
  

Released by: New Video/Docurama
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: No.

My Advice: Gaiman fans should own.

John Bolton (O'Mahony), painter of sexy undead women. What a mystery he is: very reserved, unused to appearing in public, and just a bit dodgy all around. As his agent (Backhouse) tries to drag him not kicking and not screaming in the limelight, the discovery is made: with great popularity comes great attempts at people trying to film you. Will our would-be hero and Bolton's would-be interviewer (Brigstocke) be able to wrest a look inside the mind of this reclusive genius?

What an odd little film. Normally when I'm talking about something, I'll be the first to play along with the charade, so as not to spoil it for anyone else. But that's like trying to review Adaptation without acknowledging that Charlie Kaufman really doesn't look like Nicolas Cage. So I'm kind of stuck. Anyway, Gaiman has taken John Bolton and turned him into a character for his directorial debut, equipping the character with a gallery full of Bolton's actual artwork. Those who don't instantly get the fact that this is not a real documentary will pick that up quickly as it progresses. I must add here how amused I was to see this coming out from Docurama, whose motto is "Everything else is pure fiction." Hmmmmmm.

The film is indeed short and it becomes pretty obvious where you're going to end up about halfway through, so it's not like it's doing anything you haven't seen before. What makes you not care about it telegraphing its intentions is the fact that the whole thing is just funny as hell. O'Mahony plays the entire thing deadly straight, while Backhouse's comments about her client's artwork tell less than her facial expressions and tone of voice. Meanwhile, the flummoxed Brigstocke is perfect at providing awkward silences, playing off of his subject's flat out desire to give him nothing to go on. It's worth watching at least once to appreciate the humor of the entire ordeal.

The features far outweigh the film in the final examination in sheer volume if nothing else. About the only disappointing bit is the commentary with Gaiman and Brigstocke. It's quite sparse and doesn't really add anything to the proceedings that you don't find out in the other bonus bits. I'd advise just skipping it. How they got Brigstocke's reaction to "Bolton's" studio is related in the "Short Film About" feature as well, and the really burning question--how did you get Bolton to agree to this madness--isn't even addressed in the commentary. So it's a wash.

The "Live at the Aladdin" feature is worth the price of admission. It's Neil doing a live reading for an audience, including tales like "Babycakes" and "Chivalry." He also does a Q&A session, but bear in mind this was originally released on VHS in 2001, so obviously some answers are dated. Still, to my knowledge, this is the first time it's been available on DVD, so rock on regardless. If you've never had the pleasure of hearing Neil read his own stuff live, then this is probably your best bet.

The "Short Film About" interview is between Brigstocke and Gaiman, and provides all the information about how they got Bolton on board, where the idea came from, why Gaiman did it in the first place, and, most importantly, what the hell Gaiman is doing with a beard.

The inspiration for the entire film was an introduction that Gaiman wrote for a collection of Bolton's work that begins with a gas mask. Well, of course, I hear you say. This, "Drawn in Darkness," is given the audio treatment by Gaiman, which is a very nice addition. Beyond this, we have a photo gallery and the bios, which are written in the usual amusing style while still conforming to the idea that the film actually happened. Which, you know, who knows--maybe in a lot of ways, it did.

The bonus features on here make it worth owning for the Gaiman fan. And if you're only a casual fan, you owe it to yourself to catch it on a rental if nothing else. After all, this is his dry directing run before moving onto a larger project like Death. So get in on the ground floor, why don't you?