THE STORY – Follows filmmaker Tony Kaye’s creative journey after directing 1998’s “American History X.”
THE CAST – Tony Kaye
THE TEAM – Tony Kaye (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 74 Minutes
The push and pull of art and commerce when it comes to filmmakers trying to get their vision on the big screen is a tale as old as the medium itself. The ways in which the studio system can tear an artist away from their craft are common, but in rare instances, it goes even further. Whether it be blow-ups on set, production delays, or multiple cuts, the tension of an artist deemed difficult can drive a film into the ground and ruin it or the filmmaker’s reputation. In the case of Tony Kaye and his revered directorial debut “American History X,” he risked both in the film’s infamously tumultuous production. A production in which his new documentary “Humpty Dumpty X” provides an unflinchingly honest and often funny window into.
While the issues in the making of “American History X” have been well documented for decades, not until Kaye’s new documentary do we get such detail into his side of the story. Rarely do we ever get accounts of a film production captured by the same artist of the original film; the only comparable example is Francis Ford Coppola with “Hearts of Darkness” and “Megadoc.” However, in those two films, Coppola mainly covers the film shoots and the chaos within them. Inversely, “Humpty Dumpty X” consists of nearly 30 years of footage documenting the post-production and distribution of the film, alongside more recent footage of Kaye reflecting on the highly combative process.
The most impressive thing about the film is how much of Kaye’s directorial style carries over into the documentary medium. Usually, when narrative directors transition out, many of their flourishes and personality evaporate, but the kinetic, provocative way Kaye puts together a film lives on here. That style, which the older footage and Kaye’s persona as the narrator work to bring to life, is the film’s real highlight. Any documentary can get across the difficulties of getting “American History X” released. Still, the distinct style of this documentary makes it feel almost like a video diary, and wholly Tony Kaye. Some of the newer, cleaner-looking talking head footage does feel a bit off in the gritty style Kaye attempts, but the way he uses text, music, and narration throughout brings the story and all the frustrations of it to life.
A really admirable quality of the film is Kaye’s transparency, both in his more recent interview and in the older footage he chooses to keep. He isn’t afraid to come off as unlikable or difficult, or perhaps he isn’t even aware he’s coming off as such. Either way, the lack of filters on what he says or includes in the film adds a raw and more objective feeling to the saga of finishing this film. Even apart from the interviews he does for the documentary, the process of making it and the final product have a reflective, personal quality that is hard not to admire by the end of the film. “American History X” was Kaye’s introduction to Hollywood, and all the footage and stories he has from trying to get it made are a very interesting window into a system that has seen Tony Kayes before and has done the same to Tony Kayes since. His insistence on being an artist, and the challenges he faces from producers, executives, and the like for trying to maintain what has become his baby, is really relatable to anybody who’s ever even thought about making art. Nobody who has an idea they’re passionate about wants it taken away from them, or to face having their name removed from something they worked so hard on, but those are realities of trying to bring their dream to life in this system.
However, for all these big ideas, it doesn’t feel like Kaye has much interest in the wider implications of his subject and experience. By the end of the video essay and autobiography, the film’s qualities run a bit thin as the story’s repetitive quality becomes more apparent. Only so many times can we see the ball bounce back and forth between Kaye and different producers, executives, and still find it interesting. Thankfully, there was some awareness of this, as the film runs only 75 minutes, but given how much more of a statement it makes about the studio system, it feels there was plenty of room for more.
At the end of the film, we are given a rundown of Kaye’s work since “American History X” via text. Without the footage of phone calls and meetings, these stories feel far more thrown in than a compelling addition to the story. Perhaps centering the film almost entirely around old footage from the post-production process is a disservice to making something more substantive. It does add a limited quality that other visual devices could’ve solved in making the story feel appropriately larger. Perhaps Kaye has no interest in such things and only wants to tell this specific story, but it limits the film from feeling more like a YouTube video essay than a feature. Kaye’s style is enough to make it still entertaining and fresh, but with how much of it feels like a series of old footage strung together, the tissue wasn’t strong enough to support something more lasting.
The singular quality of Kaye’s documentary makes it an enjoyable, breezy watch, particularly for those interested in the studio filmmaking process. Surely fans of the original film would be fascinated by some of the details and gossip this film offers about its star, Edward Norton, as well as some windows into the production process. Kaye has an intense way of talking and approaching conflict, which makes him a compelling subject for a documentary, but perhaps a step back and a deep breath would’ve made “Humpty Dumpty X” a more essential and wider-reaching text.
