Greetings,
Is it "meta" that I am going to review a movie about a reviewer? Maybe. I suppose I'll get an answer if anyone can figure out what "meta" actually means. Anyway, let's talk about the documentary, Life Itself.
Life Itself is a 2014 film about Roger Ebert, which was based on his memoir of the same name. So, being based on a memoir, it takes us through his whole life and career, the highs and lows of each. And, trust, there are plenty of both. It actually intersperses old footage from interviews and clips from his show, At the Movies, with the documentation of his struggle with cancer and everything that went along with it. There really are no holds barred in this thing, which is why I like it so much.
If there is one thing I hate about some documentaries about famous people, it is that they can occasionally be quite fluffy, shall we say? I think that is particularly the case when said famous person is highly involved. Yeah, don't try to fool me into thinking you're that awesome. However, with Life Itself, Roger Ebert was involved quite a bit, and yet it was very balanced. Of course, it showed all the great things he did to support film and film makers and the arts and how great he was with his family, as well it should have, because that's all true. But it wasn't afraid to show him in maybe not the best light all the time. He wasn't always super-nice or agreeable, and he was very, dare I say it, critical of others. It shows the volatile relationship he had with his longtime professional partner, Gene Siskel, even including clips of that infamous behind the scenes argument they had. That, by the way, is exceptionally priceless. If I could use one word to describe Roger, it would be honest. And he honestly was not afraid to show all these often less than flattering sides of himself.
Now aside from all the "bad" stuff, there was plenty of praise given to him by several of his colleagues. Despite the aforementioned troubles he had with Gene Siskel, we also see how much love and respect they actually had for each other. We also hear from some of the film makers who owed him a huge debt of gratitude for bringing attention to their work. In fact, this documentary is directed by Steve James, who also directed Hoop Dreams, a film to which Ebert gave massive amounts of praise. I have to say, that is what I liked most about Roger Ebert. I can tell that many critics relish in the idea of destroying films that they don't like, which can be fun, I admit it. I may have enjoyed giving bad reviews to bad movies right here on this blog. But Roger, like myself, seemed to take his greatest pleasure in sharing amazing movies that he saw and spreading the word to audiences that, otherwise, may have never heard of them. He knew that, in order to ensure us having great cinema, we must elevate the good as much as we crush the bad.
Okay, now I have to talk about something difficult. I wasn't planning on bringing this up so specifically, until I read some of the comments about this film on Netflix, of all places. There was quite a bit of "I really liked this movie, but..." And the "but" had to do with people talking about seeing Roger in the way we had to see him in the last years of his life. I have to be honest. This movie does show fairly graphically what happened to him physically due to the cancer. Look, I understand that the viewers may not want to have to see this. I mean, did I WANT to see him like that? Absolutely not. Do I think it was necessary for him to be seen that way in this film? Absolutely. It has such a powerful effect to see him going through this overwhelmingly difficult time and seeing what his body is dealing with, but, at the same time, he has such a positive attitude, still making jokes and keeping everyone else in good spirits. It's rather amazing. Seeing the hard times together with the way he handles it is rather perfect.
Speaking of those who surrounded him at this time, I'd say my favorite aspect of this movie is seeing Roger and Chaz, his wife. She was and is such an incredible woman. I know most of us say that we will always stick by those we love, for better or worse, but maybe when things get extremely worse, we can't. But she definitely stuck with him, through all the good days and bad days, no matter what. Yes, it seemed to take a toll on her, as it would on anyone, but she stayed right there, because she loved him. Still does, I'm sure. And THAT is what true love is. It's not all romance and dates and all that. Those things are part of it, but real love is what comes through when things aren't going good. And we can measure it by what we do in those times. Well, the love that these two had was unbelievable and very real.
So, to wrap things up, I am recommending Life Itself. Whether you were a fan of Roger Ebert's or not, it is a very interesting look at his life. And despite that I didn't always agree with him, be it when it came to movies or other things, I still have to give him some respect for what he did. He loved all the art involved with cinema, and he made sure that the people who made that great art were appreciated, even if he had to sift through a ways to get to them. He was willing to do that, because he cared. And as someone who is still pretty much unknown as a writer, I surely appreciate people who care enough to put forth such an effort to help. No way can I not be grateful to him for that.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
