Rebel in the Rye, 2017.
Written and Directed by Danny Strong.
Starring Nicholas Hoult, Zoey Deutch, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Lucy Boynton, Victor Garber, Hope Davis, Amy Rutberg, and Brian d’Arcy James.
SYNOPSIS:
The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
Throughout the early going of Rebel in the Rye (written and directed by Danny Strong, two-time Emmy winner for the hit television show Empire and co-writer for a few of the Hunger Games films, also based on the biography J.D. Salinger: A Life) it seems that the movie is looking to avoid plunging into the abyss that often comes from taking a historical figure and stretching the coverage of that particular person so far across a feature-length picture, that in the end there’s an unshakable feeling that all that’s being witnessed is a bunch of loosely connected life events with little palpable emotion due to the narrative unable to stick with one chapter long enough.
Essentially, that’s another way of saying I enjoyed when first-time director Danny Strong is focused on the early years of J.D. Salinger (played here by Nicholas Hoult with the appropriate stubbornness and headstrong attitude that personified the man behind the masterpiece that is The Catcher in the Rye) finding his footing, voice, and characters in the challenging world of writing. Enrolled at a nearby New York college, he shares many a conversation with his college professor Whit (Kevin Spacey presenting the tutor with a great degree of sage-like wisdom) who takes the enigmatic yet ambitious youngster under his wing as a protégé. As a writer myself (obviously), dialogue exchanges regarding educated Salinger on how to effectively utilize his distinctive writing voice and the thrills of first being published are easily relatable; it also helps that the two serviceable actors have fantastic chemistry.
Suddenly, Salinger is published though, and the movie speeds one million miles a minute through a number of plot points to reach the worldwide success of The Catcher in the Rye and Salinger’s conclusion that he only wishes to write for himself without any marketing or financial gain getting in the way of the art. The film also explores two different relationships along the way (played by Zoey Deutch and Sarah Paulson) respectively but they don’t feel characterized much. His first fling basically ditches him during World War II, which brings me to my next point.
Rebel in the Rye has one of the least involving and cheapest looking World War II sequences I have seen in quite some time. Not every film has to be Dunkirk, but it almost feels like unintentional parody as Salinger narrates the horrors of war while all we see are some heavy blue hues and some bloodless death. It’s roughly five minutes of the 105 minute running time, and once it’s over and done with we’re supposed to buy that Salinger has harrowing PTSD symptoms. Whit strongly encourages Salinger to flesh out his most prolific character into a full-length novel, broadly expanding his horizons from just simple shorts, except the film fails at displaying how the war could influence and/or hinder his progression and motivation. Instead, every scene showcasing Salinger putting words to some paper is accompanied by him lighting matches in darkly lit rooms, broodingly standing around. It’s not very engaging and furthermore, just poor direction.
The script doesn’t really fare much better, as it consistently goes out of its way to resolve things in a way for Salinger that come across too easily earned. Some of the dialogue itself also doesn’t feel natural, meaning it doesn’t really cut through to the essence of who the characters are. Rebel in the Rye works when Nicholas Hoult and Kevin Spacey are ironing out the creative process together, but past that it’s a bore. Avid admirers of the time period will assuredly get something out of the costumes and classy party scene (the budget clearly went here instead of the World War II sequence), although who cares when there is no riveting story behind it? And let’s face it, the rise and mindset of J.D. Salinger should be far more stimulating than what Danny Strong has presented.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published September 14, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
