Life Itself

After the passing of film critic Roger Ebert, I posted the following on Facebook: "I can't imagine Hollywood without Emperor Roger Ebert turning his thumb up or down in the coliseum of movie critics. At least he and Gene Siskel are reunited." Because I loved movies from a young age and because Siskel and Ebert were the most visible critics at the time I was growing up, I knew who they were. I remember when Gene Siskel passed away and this made me appreciate Roger Ebert's opinion even more. I would tend to agree with him on most things as I grew up as I began to form opinions of my own. Because of his work online in his later years, I did not know that he was sick and that is a testament of his tenacity. The phrase "two thumbs up" will always be a part of pop culture and that may be the greatest accomplishment of this man. "Life Itself" is a well-made movie and the non-linear plotline worked well. The film is a little of a downer but that is to be expected from director Steve James. I apologize that this is going to sound more like a tribute to Roger Ebert instead of a review of his biographical documentary.

The film does a good job of showing Roger's affect on Hollywood and the people he inspired. I thought it very dramatic that Oscar-winning film director Martin Scorsese did not take his own life because of Siskel and Ebert's encouragement. No wonder Scorsese is the executive producer of "Life Itself". Another documentary that I enjoy, "The Boys", was executive produced by Ben Stiller so I wasn't surprised to see Scorsese's name on the poster. What surprised me was the back-story that Scorsese had with these men. I was also happy to see director Warner Herzog in this documentary. The movie makes mention that sometimes a critic's opinion is automatically respected while in Ebert's case, his was challenged. While Roger Ebert is my favorite film critic, I did not agree with everything he said myself. For instance, I enjoy 3D while he argued against it. While writing this, I compared his "best of the year" movie list with mine and we have nothing in common. I tend to favorite blockbusters and animation but when I look at his list and see movies like "Schindler's List", "Minority Report", "The Social Network" and "Argo", I can say that are tastes were not completely different. If Ebert wasn't right then at least he always seemed to be right because he defended well his views. I was uncomfortable with the nudity in "Life Itself" but on the other hand, I was glad that alcoholism was portrayed in bad light. I was also inspired by Ebert's triumph over his drinking problem. We witness his desire for this documentary film to be an honest portrayal of his life and so I understand the reason for the nudity but I still argue that the extent of it was unnecessary. I learned a lot of other elements of Ebert's life such as his family and his struggles in illness. His mealtimes in hospital were especially hard to watch. We also got to learn about Ebert's true relationship with Gene Siskel. The two sets of outtakes for their TV show depict a unique but not uncommon bond. I would say I have a similar relationship with some of my brothers. Siskel and Ebert butt heads in a very entertaining way and it made them special. I was happy to find out how Roger met Gene. I find it very cool how they worked for competing newspapers at the start of their work relationship. As the years pass, opponents are known to come to a respect for each other and that appears to be the case for these two men. I was grateful they addressed Siskel's passing in the documentary. This film is proof of how Ebert had the opposite approach that Siskel did he dealing with illness in that he was public about it. "Life Itself" obtained on a stronger sense of drama than is normal for a documentary because of the fact that Ebert died during filming. I took note of the use of computerized vocals and the way Ebert's e-mails to James were depicted. "Life Itself" is not just about Roger Ebert's life but also about his quest to make a documentary with Steve James.

Because I tend to enjoy more linear plotlines and because this film has somewhat of a sad ending, I left the theater entertained but not as much as when I watch other biographies. That is not to say that the non-linear editing failed; I just have preferences. This documentary felt more like a full adaption of Ebert's memoir of the same name. As mentioned in this film, there is a difference between writing for a newspaper and writing for television. The same can be said for both book writing and documentary film writing. I also feel however that "Life Itself" was better than James' successful "Hoop Dreams". Ironically, that was Ebert's favourite film from 1994 and it is just another example of how I don't agree with him on everything (my favourite for that year by the way was "The Lion King"). It is obvious that Roger Ebert went farther than any film critic in history. For example, he was the first critic to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and we see it in this movie. He deserved this film about his life and work. Ebert may have lost his jaw and voice towards the end of his life but he didn't lose his thumb.

3.5 Stars