Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

I wanted to see if Danny Boyle’s new film Trance was any good, so I went on Imdb.com for its user rating, its Metacritic, and for Ebert’s review. But when I clicked on critics reviews, I noticed something was wrong. There was no Ebert review. That was strange, I initially thought, Ebert reviews literally everything. That was when it finally sunk in that Ebert wouldn’t be writing any more reviews. Ebert had passed away due to cancer. I would have to go and trust the opinions of other, lesser critics.

Along with Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert was the most influential critic of his generation. He wrote in an erudite, unpretentious fashion, and personally engaged with what he thought of the film, yet always conscious of which audience it would most appeal to. What he looked for was how closely a film fulfilled its own purpose. He famously gave the otherwise critically panned Speed 2 three and a half stars out of four because it achieved its aims of being a highly effective thriller, whilst giving the Godfather Part Two only 3 stars because he said the use of parallel plotlines ruined the films narrative force. Of course he was wrong, but what is admirable in Ebert’s reviews is that, whether or not I agree with his opinions, I appreciate and respect the reasoning that goes into them. As a literature student, his life and writings have inspired me for better clarity in what I write, and to write what I believe in, regardless of popular opinion.

{{ quote Along with Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert was the most influential critic of his generation. He wrote in an erudite, unpretentious fashion, and personally engaged with what he thought of the film, yet always conscious of which audience it would most appeal to. }}

The thing I am most thankful to Roger Ebert for is the recommendation of a little known French film called The Mother and The Whore. Released in 1973 it tells the story of a pretentious young man (played by the New Wave star Jean-Pierre Léaud) as he endlessly talks to girls in cafes, pretends to read Proust and attempts to keep two relationships going at the same time. Ebert gave this film four stars out of four, and wrote that it perfectly summed up a generation of ennui laden students, making it immediately appealing to someone like me. Without Ebert I never would have seen this film, which I assure you is less of a film, and more of a lifetime experience, and now it is ninth in my top ten films of all time (number one, if you should know, is Apocalypse Now, which is also in Ebert’s top ten).

Before his death he made plans to revamp his website, Rogerebert.com, and to have new films reviewed on there by critics he trusts to carry on the job for him, such as the excellent Richard Roeper. However, this is small consolation for the loss of my favorite film critic, especially as he never had time to review my first movie.

Going to the movies shall never be the same again.