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.
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.