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WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL: Cinematic History Through Her Life & Words

WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL: Cinematic History Through Her Life & Words

WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL: Cinematic History Through Her Life And Words

How does one even begin to write about Pauline Kael? No matter what words you choose, all the while you’re fully aware that she would have chosen better. Her honest, entertaining and downright acidic pen elevated her to a lofty position in 20th-century film history. I say film history and not film criticism history, because without Kael’s passionate advocacy for films by revolutionary young filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Sam Peckinpah, and Brian De Palma, it’s hard to imagine the American New Wave having the lasting impact that it did. At a time when there were few women critics, Kael showed that she could not only go toe to toe – or rather, word to word- with the boys, she could annihilate them.

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a feature-length documentary directed by Rob Garver that explores Kael’s life and legacy. It features archival footage of Kael throughout her career, a cavalcade of clips from films she both ravaged and raved about, interviews with filmmakers and critics who admired her and were influenced by her, and, of course, her own reviews, narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. For indeed, one cannot tell the story about such a writer without prominently showcasing the words that made her an icon.

Opening Credits

The film begins with Kael’s rustic childhood in Petaluma, California when she first discovered the joy of hiding in a dark theater to absorb the stories being told on the big screen. Born in 1919, it seems all too fitting Kael came of age at the same time the art of moviemaking did. From there, Kael dabbled in writing plays, working in experimental film and generally being a fixture in the bohemian Bay Area arts scene. When a magazine editor overheard Kael arguing about Charlie Chaplin’s 1952 film Limelight (she hated it and, in what would become typical Pauline Kael fashion, dubbed it Slimelight) with friends in a cafe, they asked her to write her own review of it. The rest is literally history.

People often accuse art critics of being failed artists themselves. Yet while Kael certainly could fall into that category, she also elevated criticism to its own art form. Her writing was intelligent without being overly dry and academic; her dry wit and conversational tone made reading every review feel as though one was partaking in a conversation with one’s cleverest friend. She would go to the mat for films that broke boundaries and savage those that played it safe, decrying box office hits such as The Sound of Music without hesitation. Her support, through her rave reviews, helped elevate films ranging from Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets to David Lynch’s The Elephant Man, Robert Altman’s Nashville to Brian De Palma’s The Fury, helping them find the audiences she firmly felt they deserved.

WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL: Cinematic History Through Her Life And Words
source: Juno Films

Kael’s passion for the movies came through in every word of her critiques, both good and bad; her famously glowing review of the controversial Bonnie and Clyde helped keep that film from being buried by early disgust at its violent content, while her vehement words for director David Lean, whose Lawrence of Arabia infuriated her, hurt him so badly that he briefly stepped away from making movies. (He tells this story in his own words in What She Said, one of a few valuable examples the film includes to show the darker side of Kael’s unbridled honesty.) That wasn’t the last time Kael would upset a member of the film establishment. When she wrote that Herman Mankiewicz deserved credit for the screenplay of Citizen Kane, many came armed with pitchforks, ready to rip her apart for appearing to question the legacy of Orson Welles. Another critic, Renata Adler, wrote a takedown of one of Kael’s books that essentially accused Kael of being infatuated with bloody violence and sexual depravity, and only writing positively about films that contained those things. Indeed, Kael often praised films her fellow critics hated and hated those that they adored, with the contrary nature of her opinions only further emphasized by the forceful way in which she expressed them. Her landmark essay “Trash, Art and the Movies” defended her right to enjoy these things, with gusto.

Unearned Climax

Even if you disagree with Kael’s thoughts on certain topics – I, for one, cannot wrap my brain around her dislike of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is one of my all-time favorite films – one cannot question her skill as a writer nor the influence that writing had on the world of film. Her prominent presence in the landscape of 20th-century cinema naturally makes her the ideal subject for a film herself. And yet, as Kael herself infamously declared in her controversial negative review of Claude Lanzmann’s nine-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah, just because a film has quality subject matter doesn’t make it a quality film. We can and should be able to criticize something even if the subject is seemingly sacrosanct; if not, then there is no point in criticism at all.

So, it would be remiss of me not to note that while I enjoyed What She Said because of its subject, the film itself feels as though it is missing something. Telling the story of such an impactful and event-filled life in a mere 98 minutes means that the film often feels rushed, and certain moments that one wishes the filmmakers had delved into deeper – such as Kael’s early attempts at playwriting and her failed filmmaking collaboration with Warren Beatty – leave a few too many questions unanswered. A diagnosis with Parkinson’s led her to retreat further from the public eye during the later years of her life, but the film doesn’t dare to shed much light on that period, hurtling to a conclusion.

WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL: Cinematic History Through Her Life And Words
source: Juno Films

Some of the most compelling segments of the film involve Kael’s daughter, Gina, shedding light on what her mother was like away from the page. Her answer? Pretty much the same – she was an incredibly critical woman! This loving yet clear-eyed honesty lends a depth to What She Said that no amount of clips of a giddy Quentin Tarantino or a stern Molly Haskell could accomplish, even if those are also key in shaping Kael’s legacy. What She Said will likely not make you feel any more familiar with Pauline Kael than you already are, but as a recap of her life and career, it is a pleasant reminder of her greatness and a nostalgic look back at an era that changed American cinema forever.

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael: Conclusion

As a film critic, I walked out of What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael feeling equal parts inspired and aggrieved. Hearing Kael’s deliciously witty and enlightening words cannot fail to inspire you, as a critic, to improve in your own work. And yet it also depressed me, for it seems impossible for any of us in the age of the Internet – with its demands for instant hot takes and easy to digest listicles – to ever achieve her level of greatness. But one cannot despair too much; after all, it isn’t what Kael, a notorious champion of up-and-coming writers, would have wanted. She would have demanded we challenge ourselves over and over again with each piece, and in order to honor her legacy, that is what we must do.

What do you think? Are you familiar with Pauline Kael’s work? What is your favorite review of hers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael opens in theaters the U.S. on December 25, 2019. You can find more international release dates here.

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