Ahead of a new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, the Star Trek icon shares his eternal interest in learning more about the world
Cranked out to accommodate the recent boom in demand for fresh content to binge, too many celebrity-profile documentaries are defaulting to the formulaic sameness of assembly-line product: open with some candid talking-head soundbites, a walk down memory lane through their early years, deeper dives into the major bullet points of their career, and tie it up with a bit of summarizing introspection looking back on it all.
Conversely, Alexandre O Philippe’s new William Shatner portrait You Can Call Me Bill spends a goodly amount of time reflecting on its subject’s profound metaphysical bond with horses. The polymath showman also shares his musings on birds, dogs, space, Satan, classic westerns, the symbolic pregnancy of dreams, other people’s impressions of his distinctive voice, and occasionally, acting. He may have naturally wet eyes, but he appears to be on the verge of tears for the entirety of this feature-length philosophical inquisition into the Tao of Shatner.
