By all accounts, Dash Snow blazed through the New York City art scene in the late 90s and early 2000s buoyed by his indefatigable penchant for chaos and charismatic spirit. In one light, he was a grimy street kid who went from graffiti art to gallery shows as the social elite chose to take a short trip into the muck and mire of a world unlike their own. In another, he was a young man who had to come to terms with the fact that his background did not separate him from this crowd as much as outward appearances would present. No matter the origins, Snow’s art was assaultive in many respects and gave glimpses of a figure who was not long for this world. The young artist’s light was eventually dimmed in 2009 after a fatal heroin overdose which both provided a loss for the artistic community and strengthened his mythical narrative as a tortured artist. In Moments Like This Never Last, filmmaker Cheryl Dunn explores the tragic existence of this young man while sometimes struggling to decide whether or not to engage with the material as friend or filmmaker.
Spiritually, Dash Snow comes from the seedy version of New York City before gentrification robbed the city of its artistic edge while making it safer to walk around at night (or even the daytime for that matter). On a personal level, the artist born Dashiell Alexander Whitney Snow was the great-grandson of the art-collecting couple John and Dominique de Menil, who founded the Menil Collection in Houston. He was born into wealth but rejected it almost as soon as soon as he could understand what being rich meant on a deeper level. His desire to distance himself from his family came more from a desire to carve his own path rather than a firm rebuke of what tied him to the art world. Yet, his free-spirited antics led him down a path of delinquency as a youth which culminated in a harrowing event in which he was “kidnapped” in the middle of the night and taken to a reform school in Georgia. The psychological damage this caused him and others he would befriend is briefly addressed in this film, but the underlying pain can typically be found just behind his glassy eyes.
The merit of the art that Snow created from a scrappy young youth to a troubled twenty-something has been debated by many. The graffiti of his younger days does not appear to be particularly creative or biting in its content, but more so in the way in which he brought it into the world. His badge of honor in this scene comes from being only the second person to tag the Brooklyn Bridge – his contempt for authority on full display with a simple and relatable “Fuck Giuliani.” Snow was a bold figure who often put his body in harm’s way be it his youthful way of throwing his body around like a ragdoll to his growing dependency on hardcore drugs as the fame he never wanted crept up on him. He made art out of snorting cocaine off an erect penis and soliciting bodily fluids for rebukes of publicity. He lived his life to the extreme, but Dunn rarely makes a compelling case for why we should care about this particular young man.
The most sizable impediment to this material is the way in which Dunn treats Snow like a saintly figure, not in a moral sense but in regards to protecting his almost-mythic legacy. While a majority of the footage comes from interviews she filmed with Snow over the years or that which he filmed of himself, there are more modern interviews with those who knew him best to give a bit more context. These are people who loved or admired him even if they knew him to be a flawed human being. Yet, there is rarely anything included that pushes back against his artistic merit which might actually embolden the arguments of those praising him. Those who are already familiar with his work will nod their head in agreement at this documentary while newcomers may find themselves struggling to understand what made this particular young spirit so admired.
The most compelling moments of Moments Like This Never Last are the times in which Dash gets to tell his own story. Even when he is not entirely self aware, his comments and perception about his life go a long way towards forming a more complex picture of this individual. He is not so unlike many grungy spirits you would recognize at your local dive bar. Observing him as he grows to be a bigger presence in the art world while falling deeper into the grips of drug use is bleak, especially as you see the people he is leaving behind to reckon with his absence. This is not a rise and downfall that needs to be romanticized, but this telling of his story seems to dip a toe into that pool a bit throughout. Comparisons to Jean-Michel Basquiat and other figures are delivered bluntly without any challenge. Those who are intrigued by the legacy of Snow will find this a perfectly engaging exploration of his time on this earth, but those coming to the subject fresh may feel like they are missing a piece of the puzzle to get fully invested.
Video Quality
Moments Like This Never Last comes to Blu-Ray in its original aspect ratio from a gorgeous high definition master. The film mostly consists of a substantial amount of archival footage with some new interviews interspersed for additional context. The footage both old and new looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. The footage of the older material seems to be the best version of it that would be possible, with much of it looking pretty gritty and ragged as you would expect from basic recording equipment from the late 90s and early 2000s. New interview segments look sleek and clear with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film are natural and vibrant as they provide a nice visual pop on screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to some amount of detail in shadows when the conditions allow for it. I do not see how this set could have been improved visually. It’s a beautiful transfer given the original source material that is handled with care by Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a strong DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures this film as well as the material will allow. Dialogue is the driving force of the film and it is mostly balanced well with the din of the city. The filmmakers do a decent job of capturing their subjects considering much of this material was filmed in hectic public environments where sounds were drowned out by competing noises. The subtle implementation of music establishes a strong mood for the film, and it is resolved well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are plentiful and are replicated perfectly. You could not have asked for a better audio presentation for this one. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.
Special Features
- Q&A: A 23-minute conversation hosted by film programmer Ralph Appelbaum with director Cheryl Dunn in which she discusses the process of documenting this story, the total access she received from the community, the reflections of the past in present day, the place of graffiti in culture, the evolving nature of this film and more. This is a really engaging and insightful piece which fans of the film will enjoy checking out.
- Deleted Scenes: Five unused scenes totaling nearly ten minutes are provided here featuring some concert footage, discussions of various run-ins with the law, an interview with the editor of the New York Post and more. There are some interesting moments here worth checking out.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Moments Like This Never Last is an exploration of a spirited artistic mind who burned bright for a short period before falling victim to the traps that so many of his predecessors fell into. The documentary does not always make a convincing case as to why we should be invested in this particular journey, but admittedly many of the individual moments are compelling. Director Cheryl Dunn scores some points for bringing some level of artistry to the construction of this feature, but a bit more objectivity may have helped this coalesce into a more satisfying experience overall. Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have released a Blu-Ray featuring a very strong A/V presentation and a couple of engaging special features. If you are intrigued by the New York art scene, you will likely get a lot out of this.
Moments Like This Never Last is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
