Jesse Eisenberg has angered the film community with a piece written for the New Yorker, in the guise of an unprofessional critic whose taste in films is tainted by jealousy.
The article, called An Honest Film Review, is from the vantage point of a journalist who is bad-tempered, easily distracted, self-obsessed and driven by sexual desire.
“In sum, these are the main problems with Paintings of Cole: it was inconveniently shown on the Upper West Side, written by a guy I envy, screened by a cute intern whose name was too confusing to remember, based on an idea that I poorly executed in grad school, and praised by the Times, which rejected me,” Eisenberg writes.
The piece has caused ire amongst film critics who have seen it as a direct attack.
Any lazy assumptions about film critics Jesse Eisenberg missed here? Looks like BINGO to me: https://t.co/2H1cMOnuEo pic.twitter.com/REOlrohcN8
— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) November 18, 2015
It's not "taking the bait" or being hypocritical to voice displeasure when a smug asshole attacks your entire profession.
— Jason Bailey (@jasondashbailey) November 18, 2015
Sounds like Jesse Eisenberg has finally managed to convince Twitter he could play a ruthless villain. A+ BVS marketing.
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) November 18, 2015
How irrelevant are we, by the way, if a major actor like Eisenberg can insult us in The New Yorker and not worry about retribution?
— Noah Gittell (@ReelChanger) November 18, 2015
Eisenberg spoke to the Chicago Tribune to explain his decision to write in the vein of “a narcissistic critic who thinks that he’s the centre of the universe and his personal gripes are somehow worthy of being publicised” stating that it was too good to pass up.
“I was just doing a Woody Allen movie, and someone showed me a review of his last movie,” Eisenberg explained. “The review said something along the lines of, ‘Woody Allen makes another movie. This one doesn’t really work, but hey, he’s doing one a year. Slow down, Wood-man.’ And I realized the guy was not criticising the movie. He was criticising his own lack of productivity and laziness, vis-a-vis Woody Allen’s productivity. But instead he was putting down the movie.”
Eisenberg’s output has traditionally received a warm reception from critics but this year saw him get some of the worst reviews of his career for action comedy American Ultra. The Guardian’s Henry Barnes called it “a boring, irritating film”.
He will next be seen in magician sequel Now You See Me 2, comic book action film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Woody Allen’s untitled latest. He was also the author of a recent book called Bream Gives Me Hiccups and Other Short Stories. According to Wikipedia, it has received “overwhelmingly laudatory reviews”.
