De Palma

Directed by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow, De Palma consists entirely of Brian De Palma discussing his life and, mostly, his movies without the aid of any other speakers or talking heads – which does ensure that, for fans of the venerable filmmaker, the picture boasts a decidedly fascinating vibe that persists for the duration of its 107 minutes. Baumbach and Paltrow generally avoid their subject’s personal life and instead focus on his cinematic endeavors, although the movie, perhaps predictably, does begin with an emphasis on De Palma’s admittedly colorful upbringing and early years. (It’s revealed, for example, that a young De Palma spied on his father in an effort at catching him with his mistress.) It’s clear, however, that De Palma goes from watchable to engrossing once the director begins chatting about his movies, with Baumbach and Paltrow rigorously going through De Palma’s filmography from start to finish and eliciting a number of thoroughly engrossing stories from the man. And as captivating as much of this is – De Palma’s tale of working with an obnoxious (and overly tan) Cliff Robertson on Obsession is an obvious highlight – De Palma‘s intense focus on one individual can be somewhat exhausting from time to time (ie it’s a lot of De Palma). This is an incredibly minor complaint for a movie that is predominantly engrossing and enthralling, with the film, though geared primarily to De Palma’s fans and followers, compelling enough to warrant a recommendation even to those unfamiliar with the subject’s rocky body of work.

***1/2 out of ****