Synopsis
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.
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Cast
- Michael McdermottSelf - Photojournalist
- A. E. HotchnerSelf - Writer
- Jean MillerSelf - Salinger's Friend
- Gore VidalSelf - Writer
- Tom WolfeSelf - Writer
- John GuareSelf - Playwright
- Philip Seymour HoffmanSelf - Actor
- Martin SheenSelf - Actor
- Harvey JasonSelf - Rare Bookseller
- Paul AlexanderSelf - Salinger's Biographer
Recommandations
- 83
IndieWire
In its revelations of Salinger's flaws, the documentary capably strips away the fanaticism associated with his books to create the impression of a human being. - 83
The Playlist
Given that this isn’t the extended TV mini-series that the subject deserves, Salinger does an effective job of making the writer seem alternately more mundane and more mysterious, almost at the same time. - 60
Time Out
Though there’s no shortage of biographies on the notoriously private writer, no one has had the stones to try making a comprehensive visual documentary on someone as camera-aversive as the Catcher in the Rye author. The effort itself should be applauded. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
Although it is overlong, it manages to be fascinating for much of its running time. But it also disappoints on many counts, providing another example of hype outpacing actual achievement -- a syndrome that Salinger himself would probably have deplored. - 50
Entertainment Weekly
At two hours and nine minutes, Salinger is at least 40 minutes too long, suffering, just like the book, from its creators' obsessive zeal. Only here, you can't page ahead to the next chapter. - 42
The A.V. Club
When Salinger succeeds, it’s in spite of Salerno’s heavy hand and because of the implicit intrigue of J.D. Salinger’s life story. For a director who clearly reveres his subject’s work, he doesn’t grasp how the flashy, eardrum-busting pomp and circumstance of his film is exactly the kind of thing Salinger abhorred. - 40
Variety
It’s difficult to get past the film’s restless, ill-fittingly bombastic style. - 38
Slant Magazine
An outsized A&E Biography episode coursing with the strident urgency typical to anyone convinced they have something new to say on a long since played-out topic.
