“You failed to turn it into a narrative.”
So says Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey), a Columbia writing professor, to a young J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult) in writer/director Danny Strong’s “Rebel in the Rye,” a story that spans Salinger’s career from budding student to reclusive iconoclast. While the line is meant to peg Salinger as a novice before he starts to hone his craft, it also neatly describes the biographical nightmare set before us—a story about the beloved author of “Catcher in the Rye” has no structure or voice.
Based on Kenneth Slawenski’s account, “J.D. Salinger: A Life”—the first fresh perspective the world had of Salinger, which portrayed his life through the lens of the war—the film adaptation can hardly be called “fresh.” For those who already know the details of Salinger’s life, there isn’t too much to offer in terms of injecting vitality into the plot. There is an over-abundance of events that shaped his life, and the film tries to fit most of them into the narrative: his mentorship with Burnett, his quibbles with his publishers, his multiple marriages, etc. For a biographical story, one expects a certain amount of plodding through history, event after event. But the beauty of a film adaptation is that you can give it shape and structure and, hell, even focus—things that this film seemed to skip over.
This isn’t the first time Strong has made this mistake. His work in Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” holds the same egregious claim to flat plot structure. Perhaps Danny Strong should focus on the stories that won him Emmys and steer clear of real-life stories.
There were some meaningful scenes, however bereft of connection they were, and, for the most part, Hoult and Spacey really pulled through and made the film worth sitting through. In one especially endearing moment, Spacey says, “Are you willing to devote your life to stories, knowing you’ll get nothing in return?”
This challenge will hit any aspiring writer in the audience square in the heart and is the semblance of a focus for the film. If your purpose in writing is for fame or money, then maybe you shouldn’t be writing. I’ll at least thank Danny Strong for that sentiment.
“Rebel in the Rye” starts on Sept. 29 at Midtown Cinema, 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com.
OCTOBER EVENTS
AT MIDTOWN CINEMA
www.midtowncinema.com
National Theatre Live
“Yerma”
Monday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m.
Slasher Lock-in
Friday, Oct. 13, 9:30 p.m.
(including Down in Front! screening)
Down in Front!
“Bloody Murder”
Friday, Oct. 13, 9:30 p.m.
A Vidjam of Horror screening
Sunday, Oct. 15, 5 p.m.
“Rocky Horror Picture Show”
Saturday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.
