Rebel in the Rye (2017)

The Worst Film Ever

Sadly Over-hyped

Good concept, poorly executed.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

When I saw the movie Behind The Candelabra I was disappointed that it was mainly about Liberace's bizarre sex life with nothing about his relations with family members such as brother George and others or about his early life. In Rebel In The Rye it was all about J D's life from taking writing classes to the success of his novel and life after that but we only saw son Matt as a baby (or was that J D's daughter?) so nothing about their father-son relationship.

The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, "The Catcher in the Rye". Rebel in the Rye has a nice perfomance from Kevin Spacey but i can't say the same for everyone also who is bland or feels like is bored. The whole script is a mess and the story it tries to tell isn't even that interesting to begin with. (5/10)

Fiction has become Jerry's most successful pickup line. The culturally accepted version of lying that is: Short stories with arrogant and witty protagonists. Boys with blistering thoughts and sharp words, his characters observe only to formulate their next jab. This aggressive form of storytelling wins him affection from women, and disapproval from professors. Jerry writes himself into his stories, and the characters suffer an identity crisis as a result. His voice swallows up the narrative and the plot suffocates in an ooze of style. Of course, he is blissfully unaware of this clash until Whit lectures him into the floorboards. An editor of Story magazine, Whit still teaches at Columbia to support his fruitless career in writing.Whit is the first jaded wise man that Jerry encounters on his journey to self-actualization. The veteran abandons his podium often, knowing that Jerry requires a confrontational teaching approach. Sniffing out Jerry's talent, Whit chastised the young artist with noble purpose. A will stronger than titanium, Jerry's character needs to be re- purposed into an insatiable drive. Greatness comes at a grave cost. Even watering greatness involves countless occupational hazards. The fallout of success contains a special strand of toxicity. Jerry does not become drunk on his notoriety, but rather uses it as an excuse to alienate everything that does not pertain to the magic carpet that delivered him to the clouds.Jerry's second teacher reinforces this pursuit of isolation in the name of exterminating distractions. The stench from his daydreams sends him to the floor where he becomes enchanted by his breaths. Meditation becomes weaponized within his domestic context, and his productivity only wounds his family.Whit told Jerry very early on that writing is never about publication, it is about producing without ceasing with no guarantees of recognition. This cozy proverb morphs into an ugly manifesto. A global conflict gives Jerry a muse, but the magnum opus has nothing to do with death. But then again, his masterpiece might have everything to do with death.

It's difficult for a movie to capture and display the magic of writing, and this movie proves it. The actor playing Salinger is given a pompous screenplay to work with. Salinger comes off as dogmatic and humorless, and maybe he was, to some people, but I think this would've worked better if we heard some of those magic descriptions spoken. Every one of Salinger's Nine Stories is a gem. I know there's intellectual property laws, but I saw a documentary on Charles Bukowski and we see his lines printed out on the movie screen as Bukowski speaks them. It's Salinger's art that fascinates and touches. We should see it, up there.