My Salinger Year

My Salinger Year is an appealing movie, that honestly tries to be artsy. There has clearly been put much attention to the costumes and the set pieces to sketch either a naturalistic or an expressionistic image at the right times. They play with the fourth wall in a way that reminds of Woody Allan, like it or not, and the realism of most of the scenes are at times contrasted with images that are open for interpretation, also like it or not.

The characters and their dialogues are borderline caricatures (cribbed from The Devil Wears Prada, by the way), but are just barely saved from being a parody by the intimate performances. The tempo, though, is that of a rusty typewriter. Uncomfortable pauses in between scenes are abundant and the actors take their time for every sentence. Hereby the film wins believability, but loses my attention.

The movie rambles on like an omnibus train that at times halts in a little station where no one boards let alone leaves the train, but along the way does show a few mesmerising landscapes. Still, the finale is of much less meaning than the ecstatic waltz music make it appear; a little bit like arriving in Boulder while the broadcasting voice announces New York.

Apart from the critique, it should be said that this charming evening filler has encouraged me to write this text ("You're a writer, yes? - Yes - So write!"); at bloody ten past eleven in the evening with an already chilled tea next to me. A manuscript that I, miraculously, finished and put online where it will probably end up in the shredder of oblivion.

It's not an appalling movie. Mostly it's a slow movie, with dry humour, interesting images and the usual pretentious use of well known classical music to give the whole at least some "préséance".

Joanna was studying to hone her literary skills, her ambition was to be a writer. But the job she was interviewing for, with a literary agency, didn't really want young writers, they wanted someone to assist the female boss and if successful might become a literary agent some day. So she had to constantly underplay her writing side.

One of her tasks was to open and read letters to J. D. Salinger, the gem of the agency's clients. Eventually this resulted in her talking to Salinger, who they just called 'Jerry', by phone and receiving some advice and inspiration from him.

Her job with the agency lasted most of the year 1996, eventually she was to write her memoir "My Salinger Year" and this movie is made from that. It isn't a dry account at all, we enjoyed that it contained a nice amount of whimsy. Some of the Salinger letter writers were visualized as real characters. One of them Joanna even talks to at times. At one point 5 or 6 of them are all on the train with her.

A really well made and entertaining movie, Margaret Qualley is excellent in the Joanna role. Some of it was fictionalized, but the core of the story is factual. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

Oct 2022 edit: Just watched it again after almost 10 months, I enjoyed it even more this time, knowing how the whole story would play out.

A heartwarming story about someone trying to understand their inner self. This feels like real life with the daily struggles, the ups and downs, the sadness, the constant search for happiness and those tiny little moments when you realize who you are and what you want. Those moments when everything makes sense and you feel in control. I live for those moments.

It's not an eventful story, but somehow it really engages you with realistic characters and an engaging story. I find it heartwarming.

While there is nothing particularly revelatory about My Salinger Year, it is a pleasant and neatly crafted film. There are obvious comparisons to be made with The Devil Wears Prada but this work seems far more honest and much less showy. There is humour but not to the camp heights of 'Prada'. Instead there are some great observations on the arrival of the internet and email into the long established world of New York literati, the story being set in 1995. The always striking Sigourney Weaver has fabulous command of comedy and makes these moments truly memorable. But an actor such as Weaver has so much more to give and does so in the small opportunities she his given to extend her character beyond two dimensions. Qualley is an adeqate lead, at times over then under playing her role. Fantasy moments are also woven in, which do feel awkward at first but then somehow seem to fit with the protagonist's wistfulness. A dance sequence is particularly lovely. If you are looking for a pleasant, not very challenging but intelligent adult film then My Salinger Year will satisfy a night out, or more likely, a night in.