Tell Them Who You Are

Tell Them Who You Are is a breezy, entertaining film by Mark Wexler about his father, famed cinematographer Haskell Wexler. The elder Wexler is just about the perfect subject for a documentary; he alternates between ranting about the state of things (just about everything, in fact) and insisting that his son shoot the movie his way. The film also includes interviews with the various filmmakers and actors Wexler has worked with in his long career, including Conrad Hall and Jane Fonda. The director’s easy-going, laid-back sensibility is just about the polar opposite of his father, and as a result, much of Tell Them Who You Are features the two men playfully arguing with each other. The movie is also surprisingly poignant on occasion, particularly in a sequence that finds the father and son visiting their Alzheimer’s-afflicted ex-wife/mother. Ultimately, though, the film goes on just a little bit too long – as the director attempts to do too much, when it’s clear right from the get-go that it’s his relationship with his father that’s the most intriguing aspect of Tell Them Who You Are.

**1/2 out of ****