Synopsis
New York in the 1920s. Max Perkins, a literary editor is the first to sign such subsequent literary greats as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. When a sprawling, chaotic 1,000-page manuscript by an unknown writer falls into his hands, Perkins is convinced he has discovered a literary genius.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Colin FirthMax Perkins
- Jude LawThomas Wolfe
- Nicole KidmanAline Bernstein
- Laura LinneyLouise Saunders
- Guy PearceF. Scott Fitzgerald
- Dominic WestErnest Hemingway
- Vanessa KirbyZelda Fitzgerald
- Demetri GoritsasJohn Wheelock
- Harry AttwellAssistant Editor
- Angela AshtonBertha Perkins
Recommandations
- 88
Observer
Colin Firth is brilliant as the patient, uncompromising and introspective Max Perkins, and the explosive performance by Jude Law as the wild, unpredictable and tragic Thomas Wolfe is one of the greatest triumphs of his career. I was spellbound. - 75
The Playlist
Your mileage will vary on Genius, depending on where you place Law’s performance on the irritating/entertaining spectrum and your tolerance for somewhat formulaic tales of creative ego and “The Price of Fame.” - 75
Washington Post
Genius may be a bit stodgy and safe, but it tells a story of beauty — as it plays out in an improbably fruitful friendship, and as it’s discovered within vast expanses of raw language by a craftsman who was arguably an artist in his own right. - 75
Slant Magazine
It makes a convincing argument for viewing Thomas Wolfe's work as a product of the excess and exuberance of the 1920s. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
For those interested in this rich period in American literature, it’s a treat. - 67
The A.V. Club
Genius may eventually be a little too comfortable with its own formula (unsurprising, considering its full-throated endorsement of Perkins’ traditionalist mien), but in its early going, it captures a little bit of the magic of artistic creation. - 50
Entertainment Weekly
The movie — dutifully shot in shades of old-timey sepia — does get better as its staginess falls away, but far too much drama stays on the page. - 50
Los Angeles Times
If Genius is a failure — and by the generally unilluminating standards of most mainstream movies about the creative process, I’m not entirely sure that it is — it succeeds in being a noble, even charming one.
