Certificate 12
Directed by Alexandre O Philippe
By Roger Crow
Alexandre O Philippe has helmed some of the most interesting documentaries of the last few years – Memory: The Origins of Alien, Lynch/Oz, and now You Can Call Me Bill.
This intimate portrait of William Shatner’s personal journey over nine decades is mainly the man himself, archive footage of classic shows and films, and an enigmatic opening shot of a big tree. The reason for which becomes apparent in the last few minutes.
Of course we all know the Canadian actor from the Star Trek series and movies, which remarkably saw him bow out 30 years ago; it feels like yesterday. But when he hung up his phaser as Kirk in 1994, there were plenty of other opportunities for the actor, writer, performance artist and canny businessman.
Amazingly this is the only feature-length documentary dedicated to his life, career and philosophy, which makes you wonder why it took so long. His assorted autobiographies are always fascinating, even if you’re not a fan, which I most definitely am. Okay, I don’t feel like I ever need to watch another second of TJ Hooker, which is now 40 years old, but the Twilight Zone and Trek offerings, Airplane II, and all of those random films that slipped through the net, some of which are featured in this 96-minute documentary, are always interesting. Oh, and his version of Pulp classic Common People ranks as one of my all-time favourites.
Yes, he may be one of the most imitated thesps on Earth, but that’s the sign of a unique talent, like Jeff Goldblum, Al Pacino or Christopher Walken. Shatner’s dry Canadian wit always shines through, especially when he reveals the art of comedy. In one bit of archive footage, his timing at a tribute to George Lucas is priceless.
And it’s hard not to share that emotion as he recalls becoming one of the oldest men in space thanks to Jeff Bezos.
Bill would like to be a tree after his death, which he goes into further detail about during the last few minutes. And you can guess he wants to be one of those giant trees that lives for centuries. You know he’ll get his wish, and it’s a melancholy thought to think about him already in the past tense.
You might not be a fan of his work, but the memories of a 90-something actor make for a fascinating assessment of a life well lived.
Direction 8
Editing 8
Rewatchability 8
Out now on digital and Blu-ray. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
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