Rebel in the Rye
Directed by: Danny Strong
Written by: Danny Strong
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Lucy Boynton, Zoey Deutch, Bernard White, Victor Garber, Hope Davis, Eric Bogosian
Biography/Drama - 106 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 11 Sep 2017
Written by: Danny Strong
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Lucy Boynton, Zoey Deutch, Bernard White, Victor Garber, Hope Davis, Eric Bogosian
Biography/Drama - 106 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 11 Sep 2017
It is more than possible I read Catcher in the Rye too young. I’ve always seen the more negative side of life and nurtured a sarcastic streak since before I have conscious memories, but there must be nuances and first-person truths one glides obliviously past if you read Catcher in ninth grade. I picked up on the bit about phonies but whiffed on what it means to habitually dream about catching kids from going over a cliff in a rye field. In fact, I’m not sure I know what that means today. However, here’s some free advice to high school kids, don’t take all that phony business with you to school to call out hypocrisy in the system and amongst your peers; eye rolls will be the least of your problems.
I didn’t morph into a Holden Caulfield acolyte. You’ve probably experienced at least one of two of them, someone who just can’t shut the fuck up about the novel. Perhaps they truly connected with the character and saw themselves in there somewhere; one who bows at the Salinger statue because he ‘gets’ them. An equally plausible example are those folks who only want to identify as a Rye club member because they think it aligns with the persona they want to present to the world. As soon as this same person stumbles onto 1984, it will be all Newspeak this and Ministry of Truth that. Literary poseurs perhaps? I camp out in the take it or leave it crowd. I can see why Catcher in the Rye detonated a bomb when it was published and even why it remains so popular today, but meh, Danielle Steele sells a whole bunch of books too.
I didn’t morph into a Holden Caulfield acolyte. You’ve probably experienced at least one of two of them, someone who just can’t shut the fuck up about the novel. Perhaps they truly connected with the character and saw themselves in there somewhere; one who bows at the Salinger statue because he ‘gets’ them. An equally plausible example are those folks who only want to identify as a Rye club member because they think it aligns with the persona they want to present to the world. As soon as this same person stumbles onto 1984, it will be all Newspeak this and Ministry of Truth that. Literary poseurs perhaps? I camp out in the take it or leave it crowd. I can see why Catcher in the Rye detonated a bomb when it was published and even why it remains so popular today, but meh, Danielle Steele sells a whole bunch of books too.
Danny Strong’s Rebel in the Rye examines the key events and personality quirks that went into the novel's creation. It studies Salinger the young twenty-something wannabe all the way to the recluse in the New Hampshire woods. Salinger was so reclusive however, most of Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal is not an imitation; it’s guesswork, Hoult’s vision. Strong adapted Kenneth Slawenski’s biography, “J.D. Salinger: A Life” into a screenplay. There are no actual video or even sound recordings of Salinger to dissect and the short list of people who knew the hermit must be whittled down into the single digits seven years after the man’s death. Daniel Day Lewis didn’t have any sound recordings of Abraham Lincoln either, but there is a work of scholarship devoted to that President’s every sneeze; far more is known about Lincoln than a novelist who prowled jazz clubs in 1930s New York City hoping to impress debutants with zingers like, “I write short stories.”
Hoult (Equals) convinces me this may be what Salinger was like as a young man; extremely sarcastic, a bit lazy, but nurturing a desire to write somewhere beneath the crusty exterior. Salinger’s creative writing teacher and later confidant, Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey, Baby Driver), tests his student’s mettle asking what sounds like an easy question but is really a setup for any number of bullshit answers. “Why do you want to be a writer?” Strong has Hoult look honest here and deliver a thoughtful comeback, one you wish Salinger said in real life. “Because I get angry about a lot of things and when I’m writing, I feel like I’m doing something about it; like I’m finally able to speak my mind.” I highly doubt Salinger ever said such a screenwriter’s sentence, especially in the middle of an impromptu conversation, but this is the pictures, not primary source material for another biography.
Hoult (Equals) convinces me this may be what Salinger was like as a young man; extremely sarcastic, a bit lazy, but nurturing a desire to write somewhere beneath the crusty exterior. Salinger’s creative writing teacher and later confidant, Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey, Baby Driver), tests his student’s mettle asking what sounds like an easy question but is really a setup for any number of bullshit answers. “Why do you want to be a writer?” Strong has Hoult look honest here and deliver a thoughtful comeback, one you wish Salinger said in real life. “Because I get angry about a lot of things and when I’m writing, I feel like I’m doing something about it; like I’m finally able to speak my mind.” I highly doubt Salinger ever said such a screenwriter’s sentence, especially in the middle of an impromptu conversation, but this is the pictures, not primary source material for another biography.
According to Rebel in the Rye, Salinger only thought he knew anger when he started out. Returning from World War II’s European Theater after storming a Normandy beach and witnessing the liberation of concentration camps, J.D. was hollowed out and filled up with what the professionals call PTSD today, but folks referred to as a case of the shakes back then. His waking nightmares and more than uncomfortable presence staring murderously at a Central Park carousel full of kids could have driven the stunted writer in a completely different direction. Credit for his gradual calming and return to the typewriter is given to the Hare Krishnas. The effort to avoid distractions, which stays with us the rest of the film, starts here and it works. Blank walls and minimalist furniture would increase anyone's output. Salinger certainly may have returned to his Caulfield character, whom he invented before he left for war, to move past his demons, but the film fails to sell this most unsubtle suggestion. Salinger as his own therapist with lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth while obeying the typewriter ding is one of the more eyebrow-raising methods to evict demons.
Salinger returned to a city full of phonies who casually talked about war but had no idea what they were talking about. His relationship with Burnett destructs over this point; which, while true in real life, does the film no favors. It’s not Kevin Spacey’s fault he out acts every other actor on screen; it’s what he does. That’s why directors hire him. Thumbs up to Hoult for even attempting the challenge, but Spacey owns their scenes together. It reminds me of 1997 Matt Damon; a fine actor, but no match for Robin Williams on the other side of the Good Will Hunting couch. They’re playing different sports. Another casualty you’ll wish sticks around longer is Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall) as Oona O’Neill, the socialite fling Salinger wished was waiting for him to return from war. Sure, it’s true she ditched him for the much older Charlie Chaplin, but since when did truth ever make the story better?
Salinger returned to a city full of phonies who casually talked about war but had no idea what they were talking about. His relationship with Burnett destructs over this point; which, while true in real life, does the film no favors. It’s not Kevin Spacey’s fault he out acts every other actor on screen; it’s what he does. That’s why directors hire him. Thumbs up to Hoult for even attempting the challenge, but Spacey owns their scenes together. It reminds me of 1997 Matt Damon; a fine actor, but no match for Robin Williams on the other side of the Good Will Hunting couch. They’re playing different sports. Another casualty you’ll wish sticks around longer is Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall) as Oona O’Neill, the socialite fling Salinger wished was waiting for him to return from war. Sure, it’s true she ditched him for the much older Charlie Chaplin, but since when did truth ever make the story better?
Catcher is a novel one should never buy a new copy of with an unbroken spine. It should fit in your palm and folded in half in your back pocket with a loose page or two threatening to jump ship. You need to pick one of the rattier options from a third-hand bookstore. The same goes for Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, another novel born of 1944-45 World War II Germany. “I decided not to have God damn, stupid, useless conversations with anybody.” When an impressionable mind digests that and combines it with other samples of the literary canon, some readers are highly inclined to adopt the idea and show visible disgust on their faces when someone mentions how agreeable the weather has been lately. That’s what Salinger did to early 1950's America. However, Salinger did not write Rebel’s screenplay. It’s a fair and mostly attention-holding offering of how the novel came about, but nothing more. It’s most lasting gift will be to remind the audience there was a sulking and snotty boy before there was a twitchy recluse. Those who are curious about him should take the time to get to know him.
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