No statue was ever put up of a critic, they say – but Roger Ebert got one, and now there’s a documentary monument to this tough-talking, Pulitzer-winning newspaperman and film critic from Chicago. Newspapers made him a writer; TV made him a celebrity; the internet made him a legend.
Ebert was a terrific critic whose work was always heroically rooted in the idea that writing about the cinema should be accessible and popular. Before he died of cancer in 2013 (a cancer of the jaw and mouth that was extremely debilitating), Ebert had actually refabricated his existence digitally as a critic: he blogged, he tweeted and he wrote his heart out. The web gave him a new lease of life and a new global audience. But the film is also about his tense, lifelong professional association with fellow critic Gene Siskel, with whom he teamed up to present a smash-hit movie review show on TV in the 80s and 90s. Clearly, they didn’t like each other much, but this creative tension made their show a hit and made them the Hedda and Louella of their day.
Ebert was maybe not a great stylist or ideas person like Pauline Kael or Andrew Sarris, but he was a passionate evangelist and used his national popularity to help young film-makers. It’s an inspiring documentary for critics, and anyone who loves cinema.
