deadCenter Review: ‘For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism’
“For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism”
Directed by Gerald Peary
It’s not the best time in the world to be a film critic — dozens have been laid-off from their full-time positions and the proliferation of critical voices on the Web — both accomplished and amateur — has made the field ruthlessly egalitarian, for better or worse. Everyone really is a critic these days.
It’s into this tumultuous environment that director Gerald Peary — himself a film critic for the Boston Phoenix — has released this history and analysis of the profession. The film traces film criticism from its earliest days as a novelty and advertising gimmick up through its current state — although the Web is mostly reduced to a few personalities like Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News. This untrained, fanboy side of Web criticism is certainly worth examining, but it doesn’t represent the whole picture.
Former full-time critics such as Glenn Kenny (Premiere) and Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader) both offer serious critical thought online. Rosenbaum retired and Kenny lost his job when Premiere folded, but they both continue to reach audiences online. Peary made clear in his post-screening discussion that his film is not anti-Web, but it certainly doesn’t examine Web criticism in any substantial way.
What the film does well though is offer a history primer that most filmgoers and certainly the general public will learn from. Elements of the history are necessarily brief, but it is rather thorough, descending from its cursory viewpoint occasionally to document certain movements in a more in-depth manner, such as the auteur theory and the resulting feud between Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael.
Despite existing as mostly talking heads (with a good number of film clips interspersed), the film remains lively and engaging throughout. Dozens of critics are interviewed, with great insight and anecdotes from people like Sarris, Molly Haskell, Stanley Kauffmann, J. Hoberman and Elvis Mitchell, who was in attendance to discuss film criticism in a panel after the film. The film certainly gives more time than necessary to the dour Richard Schickel, who actually confessed to a UCLA audience that he never really loved movies after a screening of this very film.
Peary doesn’t exactly possess a sharp filmmaking talent — the film is visually inconsistent and sometimes rather garish looking, making for a film that is more utilitarian than anything — but that certainly doesn’t detract from the film’s usefulness. In a day where anyone can fire off a review of anything online, it’s nice to be reminded that serious critical thought isn’t quite extinct yet.
Grade: 3 out of 4 Stars
-Dusty
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[...] Mitchell was at the festival to be a part of a panel on film criticism, which followed a screening of “For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism,” which I reviewed here. [...]