Our take
There are plenty of great movie critics out there, but only a couple share Roger Ebert’s dedication to cinema. Ebert made it his mission to make not just movies but movie criticism accessible to the public by discussing it in the simplest yet moving terms. Even after he was diagnosed with a debilitating sickness, he continued to write. Director Steve James (The Interrupters, Hoop Dreams) understood that on a deep level, and so made Life Itself just as available to everyone, from diehard Ebert fans to the most casual moviegoer. Like Ebert himself, the film is smart but never offputting, wide-reaching but deeply personal. Most of all, it’s inspiring–unflinching but inspiring. We should be so lucky to view films, and indeed people and life itself, through Ebert and James’ point of view.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
Sundance
1 nom
Nat. Board of Review
1 nom
LAFCA
1 nom
The story
The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.
Elsewhere
"A very worthy delve into a eventful life cut short by cancer."
— David Jenkins
Featuring interviews with renowned directors, fellow critics, loved ones, and Roger Ebert himself, Life Itself is the quintessential documentary about the beloved American film critic.
Ebert’s unwavering dedication to cinema is unparalleled. I mean, to be bedridden and literally lose your voice but still want to get a review out a day? That’s a master of his trade if I’ve ever seen one.
You don’t have to love Ebert, just movies, to appreciate this documentary.
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
"While the film is too candid about Ebert's ego, petulance, and late-career critical softening to be called hagiography, that very frankness does harmonize with the critic's own eleventh-hour turn toward full and fearless disclosure."
— Eric Hynes