For the Love of Spock

This documentary about the life of Leonard Nimoy was entertaining and informative. I thought I knew a lot about the man and his career, but had many "I didn't know that" moments, as I imagine will most Trekkies and other fans. The film focuses on the man and his many diverse achievements, but avoided the false light of perfection, showing Leonard's ability to experience setbacks and grow throughout his life, both professionally and personally. Putting celebrities on pedestals isn't good for us or them and this film avoids doing that. The film is honest in ways that will undoubtedly surprise many. Leonard Nimoy is not synonymous with Spock, but even hardcore Trekkies should enjoy depth of the film and learning more about the man, rather than just the character. A big "bravo!" to Director Adam Nimoy, aka Son of Spock, and his team.

I just saw the film this evening and generally enjoyed it. It not just about Spock, but also about Leonard Nimoy and his relationship with his son, Adam (the filmmaker). A touchstone in this story is a letter Leonard wrote to his son in 1973. Adam reads portions of this and uses it as a launching pad to take the narrative in different directions. The last time he reads it, he puts the letter back in an envelope and puts it on top of a copy of "I am not Spock." I remember seeing a copy of this book in a bookstore in the 1970s (I'm dating myself here). Leonard wrote this book out of frustration for constantly being pushed into the "Spock" box as he tried to make his way in his acting career (and other pursuits) after Star Trek. Yet, from this film, you would never guess Leonard had a difficult relationship with the character he created. Yes, he eventually made peace with the notoriety that came with creating and 'being' the Spock character, and came to accept the fan attention as an acknowledgement of the universal appeal of the character he created. But why is this absent from the film? We hear about his records and his photography, but what about his poetry? We hear some about his drinking problem and hear allusions to the 30 years of smoking that killed him (COPD). Amazingly, for all the photos we see of him, I only saw one that showed him smoking.

A testament to the appeal of the Spock character and the actor who created him is in the very long list of people who participated in the crowdfunding to get this film made.

Despite the fact that William Shatner's Captain Kirk was the ostensible lead of "Star Trek: The Original Series", it was ultimately Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock that often stole the show. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Trek, Leonard's son Adam Nimoy decided to make a documentary somewhat focusing on his father's time as Spock. When Leonard unexpectedly passed from COPD, however, Adam decided that the documentary must take on a more personal, emotional tone. "For the Love of Spock" was the end result, an emotional piece that thrives on its ability to show Mr. Nimoy the husband and father.

Because Nimoy (and his alter-ego Spock) had become such a luminous figure in the entertainment community, it is very interesting to get "insider" glimpses into what his life was like when the cameras stopped rolling. That is the heart and soul of "For The Love Of Spock". Thoughts about Leonard/Spock from fellow actors and family members are quite poignant, while Adam's composure and dignity in hearing all this about his father is interesting to take in as well.

The reason I can't give this the full five stars is because the parts dealing with Trek/Spock in general are rather generic, using footage I had seen before and not really giving me any new information. Without the shift in focus towards the familial side of Nimoy, I think this may have been a rather middle-of-the-road documentary.

Overall, though, I very much enjoyed watching "For the Love of Spock", as it provided me with new insight into the personality of Leonard Nimoy and how not only his peers but also his family viewed him. Adam Nimoy does a good job of getting the most out of the experience, and many emotional moments are present. Highly recommend for those who still can't quite believe that Mr. Nimoy has left this mortal coil, and want to get a peek into his life both on and off camera.

I just left a screening that featured a Q&A with its director Adam Nimoy. I appreciate that Adam was amazingly candid and honest about his relationship with his father and their history together in the Q&A and in the film. There are issues that I'm having with MY father NOW that I would feel extremely uncomfortable about revealing to anyone, let alone a huge audience. I also love that the film included frank and candid remarks from Leonard Nimoy about his life and his fellow cast members. I really wanted MORE recent interviews with Leonard. As Adam stated during the Q&A, his father was alive for only the first few months of the filming for this documentary. I'm sorry to state that it suffered as a result. There was also far too much "Big Bang Theory" material. No offense to anyone who is on that show, but I didn't really care about their opinions. So the ten(?) minutes that is devoted to them is rather painful.

But aside from these flaws, it was a great way to spend the Star Trek fiftieth anniversary today. Thanks, Adam.

The problem with making this kind of documentary is that it is discussing the entire lifetime of a very popular and well-known person. On top of that we have the character he played. Even at nearly two hours it seems to only scratch the surface of anything.

Although titled "For the Love of Spock" this documentary is more about Leonard Nimoy than it is Spock. A great deal is discussed about Nimoy himself and his relationships, but what really stands out here is what is largely missing: the evolution of the Spock character (touched on but lots untouched), Nimoy's period of disillusionment with the character ("I Am Not Spock"... given only "cameo portrait" here), why he returned to loving and embracing the character, his major achievements outside the Star Trek role, etc etc.

No matter how hard this documentary may try, it simply could not cover it all. This could be a miniseries, each part discussing a certain aspect of Nimoy and/or the Spock character.

But as it stands, this documentary helps us gain some insight into Nimoy (which I'm sure was the primary interest of viewers), was strikingly honest in its portrayal (the director himself, Nimoy's son, admitting major flaws in his relationship with Leonard... a fairly gutsy thing to do), and brief but earnest interviews with those closest to Leonard. I'm sure there is a TON of information they had to discard in this... enough to make several more documentaries.

I personally find it sad that this couldn't have been kept to a family-friendly format. A couple of F-bombs and some nude photos aren't all that unusual these days and most kids have probably seen far worse on the Net... but still one wishes directors would show just a bit more wisdom in creating something that is appropriate for ALL ages... especially something like this, which may be of some historical interest.

So while not perfect (how could it be?) it is still a well-done documentary. What it does cover it covers well, and it attempts to be as diverse as possible within a less-than-2-hour time slot. There's only so much that one can do when documenting such a complex person and such a diverse and outstanding career.

The one point it made that honed in best with my take on this: if we were to point at one single character that has shaped our modern world and propelled millions of people to accept science fiction as mainstream rather than the "nerd genre" it was once considered... it would be Spock. Yes, Star Trek itself and Nimoy was only part of that history-making concept. But the role of Spock was pivotal; that role was created by Roddenberry and then re-created by Nimoy. It wasn't until the advent of Star Wars some 9 years later that science fiction gained respect and went mainstream. During that time Star Trek was serialized and prepared an international audience for mainstream acceptance of science fiction. I saw that happen, over night, and it was very impressive.

But this review isn't about the Spock character, or Nimoy himself. It's about this documentary and whether or not it was well-done and successful. I think within the limited scope of what it could present in the time slot allotted, yes it was very well done. Had it been 6 hours long, totally family-friendly and covered more of the Spock phenomena, I may have easily given it 10 stars.