Movie Review Rebel in the Rye (2017)

“Rebel in the Rye” (2017) is the film where I first learned that the art of writing is taught in higher institutions. For some reason, I could never imagine studying to be a writer: you pass the diploma and that’s all – you are a real author: “please, check up the Gradebook, see? I have good grades… I am a good writer!”. 

The first thing that catches my eye is the terrible colors and light. I really did not like the choice of gamma, saturation and general spectrum. It is as vague as possible, as is the beginning of the movie. The story looks somehow very stretched, the key stages of development are depicted superficially, as if the director and screenwriter were given the task of describing everything in a few words. If they somehow managed it, then actor of the main character (Nicholas Hoult) surrendered this party with his confused, constantly frightened little eyes. The performance is extremely unfortunate, as is the choice of an actor for this role.

An artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection

Actors in the film “Rebel in the Rye”, 2017

Kevin Spacey, as always, plays perfectly, it is very pleasant to watch him. What can you say about the main character, who lacks something. He is somehow too tense, concentrated, his appearance does not suit J. D. Salinger, author of “The Catcher in the Rye” (1951). I never believed that it was him. I see an actor who finds it difficult and almost impossible to portray a real writer of those times and that particular Salinger. Nicholas Hoult never convinced me that he is who this movie is about.

Vegetarian

Salinger was already a vegetarian by the age of 20 (his father’s activities seemed disgusting to him), but he is depicted as a meat eater in one of the post-war scenes in the film.

Are you willing to devote your life to telling stories, knowing that you may get nothing in return? And if the answer to that question is “no”, well then you should go out there and find yourself something else to do with your life because you are not a true writer.

A film about a writer

No one will deny that Salinger is outstanding. And any film about him can be useful for authors, especially beginners who are just starting to find themselves.

In the film “Rebel in the Rye” (2017) the basic things of the writing art are explained quite convincingly. The teacher of Columbia University acts as a mentor not only for the future world-famous writer, but also for the viewer-author. There are exercises that can be done if desired, advice on improving writing skills, what should and should not be done by a young writer.

Must-see for those who connect their life with word creation. In addition to biographical moments, this film quite successfully depicts the author’s formation, self-discovery, overcoming obstacles to future stunning works.

Despite all the shortcomings, I add this movie to my collection not in the last place, because it is a frankly biographical narrative. Watching it will be extremely useful for authors and everyone who loves real art and literature.

Imagine a book that you would want to read and then go write it

Video wiki

Throughout the film, I felt like I was watching a retelling of a Wikipedia article. The script is so clumsy, simple, and superficial that the image of the writer himself did not want to be formed into a complete portrait. The J. D. Salinger in the film “Rebel in the Rye” remained a mystery, a puzzle broken into many pieces the film crew never managed to put together.

Conclusion

The film seemed too simple, academically primitive and meaningless copying of the famous writer biographical facts.

The script is so weak that it was forced to watch this work.

A bunch of events, a bunch of different changes, each of remained undisclosed in full.

The actor who played Salinger was poorly cast, in my opinion. And the game itself seemed unconvincing and immature to me.

Just terrible light and color solutions. My eyes suffered indescribably.

I recommend the film for viewing, but as a cinema stuff it is nothing. It will not be superfluous to learn the details of the life of an outstanding writer, the way to create a masterpiece, especially for those who are interested in literature or call themselves writers. Kevin Spacey earns one point personally from me.

The movie has some apt quotes. I have listed some of them in this review.

I gave the movie 5 out of 10 rating