Despite some serious reservations I decided to watch the crowd-funded, son-directed documentary For the Love of Spock, a film on actor Leonard Nimoy and his iconic character from Star Trek. I'm not sorry I saw it, although much of what I thought would come out in the interviews and voice overs did, from endless and gushy fannish adoration to personal score-settling and blame for things far beyond a busy actor's control. It's hard to see the latter happen when the subject is no longer alive to defend himself.
Leonard Nimoy as an actor was an interesting man -- he worked in many productions and television series that most Trekkies aren't even aware of, and clips are shown early on that demonstrate his range. He was also a poet, a photographer and a very talented director. Naturally he was the titular character on Star Trek, outshining even William Shatner's Captain Kirk. I was surprised to see that Shatner was actually very polite and complimentary toward Leonard in his interviews; at least he had some manners.
Spock's character influenced multiple generations of fans, writers, directors, actors, artists, including yours truly. The character was definitely on my mind when I created Duncan Reever for StarDoc. Spock was forever fighting his emotions; Reever never learned to have any (at least, until he met my star doc.) So to hear the actor talk about the choices he made while he evolved his portrayal of Spock was the high point of the film for me.
I guess in the end the movie depends on what you bring to watching it. If you're a Spock fan I'm sure you will enjoy most of the film. If you're a creative like me who is wondering what is going to happen to your work after your death, not so much. Available on Netflix.
Comments