SALINGER

With Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Guare, Martin Sheen, David Milch, Robert Towne, Tom Wolfe, E. L. Doctorow, A. Scott Berg, Elizabeth Frank, Gore Vidal

Written & Directed by Shane Salerno

J.D. Salinger wrote one of the most respected and influential American novels of the 20th century, The Catcher In The Rye, speaking to the consciousness of a vast (and still expanding), largely youth readership open to a new awakening, identifying with its theme of adolescent alienation (some taking it a step too far, citing it as inspiration to gun down John Lennon and president Reagan respectively).

While always private, Salinger ceased press interviews after 1980 (also triggered by the Lennon and Reagan assassination incidents), further expanding the fascination and mythology around the man whose definitive book influenced generations of regular people and varied artists alike. 

Trying for years to get recognized by having his work published in The New Yorker, when The Catcher In The Rye took the world by storm, he kept writing, but his published output diminished, and his reclusive habits added more intrigue to those who felt he spoke directly to them in his writing.

This fantastic documentary lays out his story, his background, successes, failures, and the public’s obsession with his work, and as a result the man himself.
A vast amount of interviews with friends, colleagues, associates, ex-lovers, fans, actors, artists and award winning writers piece together a fascinating portrait of a man who has remained a mystery to so many for so long.

The movie leaves a startling revelation at the end linked to J.D. Salingers vast body of unpublished work.

6 / B
- Paul Blom

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
- A - B - C

A: Multiple Viewing Potential
B: Deserves Another Look
C: Once Should Suffice