This film isn't a gale of entertainment. Much like the book. It's a Sunday read in the sun while the breeze blows. Or a Saturday late movie when you can't sleep because the damn moon is full and is keeping you up. Wonderfully acted. Styled realistically. Engaged dialogues. Sigourney carries herself and the film along every time she appears and Margaret is a delight to watch- she is going places. Read the book and watch the film. Or watch the film and read the book. It matters not what comes first. The movie is for all book lovers, and whether time has read Catcher or not. A solid 7.
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Cushman10129 January 2021
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GoreWhoreAust21 December 2020While 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.
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yaezin17 April 2021A 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.
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TxMike29 December 2021Joanna 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. -
GuyWritingThis6 March 2021Most people reviewing this film - understandably - look to it to be an examination of the world of New York literary agents, J.D. Salinger's work, aspiring writers, or some combination of all the above. Who can say - but it seems clear from seeing it just now (on its U.S. release) that it's a movie not principally concerned about those other things, but rather about its own central character, Joana Rakoff (as played by Margaret Qualley). It is, after all, *Joanna's* Salinger Year - not those other folks'; it's concerned with her *experience* of those things - not the things themselves. I find the movie to be highly underrated; indeed, it's got a few really standout moments (mostly things that play out in the confines of Joanna's mind) - as well as some good, solid performances. If you take it purely as a story of personal growth and development, *set against* the backdrop of the NY literary world, I think you'll enjoy it, as I did. It's "subtle," to be sure - but who needs sledgehammers? (Save that for "My Sledgehammer Year.")
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TheDragonTrader29 September 2021My 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". -
Alexander_Blanchett21 February 2020It was a decent film and nice "Devil Wears Prada"-esque Story The film sometimes had some lengths and from times to times felt a bit too much over the place, but what absolutely saved it was the fantastic acting by its two main actors. First of all we have Margaret Qualley who perfectly follows up her breakthrough Performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with her first leading role. She manages it perfectly and it feels like she had done this her whole life already. Qualley wonderfully commands the screen and even holds herself extremely well in Scenes with legendary Sigourney Weaver. Weaver who plays the boss from hell (well Kind of... ) obviously had a lot of fun with this role and it is great to see she is again in a role that is up to her known range. There were some Points of the film that Held it back from truely great, like several subplots that didnt go too well with the flow. But it is a good feel good film About a Young Woman who has to learn to set the Right Goals for herself and thats where the film is successful.
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verawhoisanders23 July 2021The color palette of the screen is nice! Very cozy vintage tones in clothing and interiors. I love the light (and imitation of sunlight) in some scenes too.
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tex-423 April 2021My Salinger Year is a sweet, delightful film, and you do not need to have read the book to enjoy it. The plot is fairly thin. In the mid-90s, Joanna (Margaret Qualley) visits a friend in New York, and decides to stay there, leaving her life in California behind. What Joanna would really like to do is write, but she also has to pay the bills. She gets a job as an assistant at a literary agency, working for Sigourney Weaver. The catch here is Weaver's biggest client is J. D. Salinger, the famously reclusive writer. He gets hundreds of letters from fans, but the agency has been instructed not to pass them on, and instead respond to each letter with a form indicating that Mr. Salinger will never see it. Despite this, Joanna begins personally responding to certain letters with unintended results. Also, Joanna picks up a mediocre boyfriend, ponders life and following a tragedy involving her boss, gains the courage to move to the next stage of her life.
Overall, this was an enjoyable movie. There was no particular deep meaning to any of it, and you might say the movie relies a little too heavily on the Salinger gimmick. However, Qualley is wonderfully engaging in her role, and Sigourney Weaver is clearly living her best life. The movie has a nice supporting cast as well. I'd very much recommend it for a rainy day or a movie night. -
Megan_Shida23 November 2021This film is The Devil Wears Prada for literary nerds, and I'm a literary nerd so that's why I watched it. At times, this movie is aggressively hokey and the literary references and conversations were really contrived, and that honestly made it hard to watch. If I wasn't a huge Salinger fan then I probably would have turned it off. Overall, it had its enjoyable moments and was somewhat entertaining, mainly because of the two female leads. I wouldn't recommend if you were not interested in American literature, the publishing process, etc.
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OTTO700015 October 2021You think that a story around story experts will know how to tell a good and engaging story. But ironically they don't. What intended effects on us are bland for me. Writers wrote for themselves I guess.
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amyobrien-067953 March 2021This film starts off a bit slow and hard to follow until you start to feel you are back in that time of your life when you had your first notable job. The story unfolds and you start to care about the depth of the cast. The music accompanies the scenes nicely. The images of New York are always appreciated by me. This is a gentle movie for those who appreciate writers, books and agents.
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gregorymannpress-7476214 February 2021"My Salinger Year"
New York in 'the 90s': After leaving graduate school to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, Joanna (Margaret Qualley) gets hired as an assistant to Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), the stoic and old-fashioned literary agent of J. D. Salinger (Tim Post). Fluctuating between poverty and glamour, she spends her days in a plush, wood-panelled office, where dictaphones and typewriters still reign and agents doze off after three-martini lunches, and her nights in a sink-less Brooklyn apartment with her socialist boyfriend Don (Douglas Booth). Joanna's main task is processing Salinger's voluminous fan mail, but as she reads the heart-wrenching letters from around the world, she becomes reluctant to send the agency's impersonal standard letter and impulsively begins personalizing the responses. The results are both humorous and moving, as Joanna, while using the great writer's voice, begins to discover her own. Throughout the film.we follow characters that are often foreign to the environment they now find themselves in. In "My Salinger Year", Joanna is thrown into the literary world and has to learn how to navigate it. Much like the character who has to navigate new grounds professionally. The film paraphrases Joanna and describe it as a visitation with a character. At the center of her journey are all those fans who write to Salinger, desperately wanting to connect with him. Her job is to shield Salinger from them, but she finds a very personal way to do her job, and this will help her find who she really is. The storyline explores several contrasting ideas. The book explores multilayered ideas, 'literature vs. business', 'success vs. privacy', the old and the new, 'boyfriend vs. ambition'. It's challenging to get all these ideas in without overcrowding the storyline. The way to do that's to focus on Joanna, stick to her character, and let the themes arise in the background. One of the themes that's very close is the perennial debate about 'art vs. business'. The business side is very important which comes as a bit of a shock for Joanna, especially in that sequence when her boss asks her to read Judy Blume's (Gillian Doria) new manuscript. She's a big fan of Judy Blume so she's thrilled to be on the inside. She loves the new book, but her boss wants marketing advice, not a critical appreciation. She realizes that her personal taste and sensibility can be irrelevant in this sort of discussion. At the other end of the spectrum, Joanna's socialist boyfriend Don is not joking when he says; 'writing makes you a writer'. Publishing is commerce. Salinger is a hovering presence in the book. The film comes up with a playful way to portray Salinger through Joanna's point of view. That being said, there's never a scenario where Salinger is a full fledged character; it's not his story, but Joanna's. His world materializes through the numerous fan letters Joanna reads. This is one example of where the film transforms literature into cinema and invent a parallel world for the fans. The set and costume design balance the vibrant time in which the story is taking place, as well as incorporate the mid-century modern aesthetic of 'The Salinger Ära'. It's a tricky time, almost a no man's land not quite far enough in time to give it an aura of nostalgia or a feeling of grooviness in terms of colors and texture. But there are fun details about that time that the film exploits narratively; it's a time of changes in the world of communication, press and publishing. In 1996, people were only beginning to get familiar with 'Emails' and 'The Internet'. This film is based on Joanna Rakoff's book 'My Salinger Year'. Joanna's writing is both moving and funny in the smallest of details. We can relate to that uncertain time when we've to decide what we want to do with our life, not completely aware of the range of possibilities. A time when anything is possible, but everything seems out of reach. Novels are one thing to adapt, but memoirs are on another level. The book is not story driven. The screenplay invents moments and events as mutation tools between literature and film. Part of the challenge when you adapt a book is to understand what's organic to each form. The literary world can hold much more content and can sustain multilayered themes without feeling scattered. It also allows direct access to the protagonist's mind. Turning a book into a film usually means making choices, creating composite characters and transforming the inner voice into concrete actions. Fiction has to be used to convey ideas or feelings, we find in the book. The film indeed portrays the literary world as multifaceted and depicts the creative and the business process of the arts as both necessary and complimentary. We want to believe literature is at an arms length of commerce at least compared to music, visual art of films, but it isn't.
written by Gregory Mann -
imdb-292011 May 2021Having actually worked in NYC publishing in 1995, we stopped watching after an hour because the protagonist is a naïve dumbass and her boyfriend is a lazy stereotype. The only interesting character is played by Sigourney Weaver, and even that is so over-the-top as to be ridiculous.
Four stars for the production. It's beautifully filmed, but the characters are garbage. -
Gordon-1124 April 2021It's not an eventful story, but somehow it really engages you with realistic characters and an engaging story. I find it heartwarming.
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SnoopyStyle12 July 2021It's 1995. College student Joanna (Margaret Qualley) decides to leave Berkeley, and follow her friend Jenny to New York City to be a writer. She gets a job at a literary agency which represents some big names including the reclusive J. D. Salinger. Her boss Margaret (Sigourney Weaver) is so old school that they don't even have a computer. Part of her job is to read Salinger's fan mail and then shred them. She starts dating bellyaching socialist and unpublished author Don.
The story is basically The Devil Wears Prada except in the literary world. It's a girl in the big city who would like to do something else other than her job. It has a tough female boss. It has a bad boyfriend. It has a nice co-worker. It has learning lessons and realization moments. The comparison does not put this movie in a flattering light. Most of this movie is a step below. Sometimes it's a small step. Everyone loves Sigourney but she's no Meryl. Margaret Qualley is pretty good with her big eyes. This is not as fun or comedic. This is still good but not by comparison. -
barbeetaylor-156-38910325 April 2021First - I didn't know what to expect and the first few minutes I wasn't sure I would like it but I loved it. I don't understand the negative comments and maybe I am just naive but I felt the characters were well acted and so spot on. Margaret Qualley had a great blend of bravado and naïveté with a sprinkle of confidence .... exactly what you would expect for someone who lives for writing and now has to squelch that passion because she has to earn a living. Siquorney Weaver was wonderful as a jaded yet haughty agent - of course you find out her humanity later on.
Definitely watch this but watch it with a cup of hot tea in a comfy chair. -
christoph-graupner21 February 2020That young woman plays her role in a very kund and decent and subtle way. And man is she beautiful!
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michelleothmanmo29 October 2021A beautiful story that reminds me of my early days in the work field. Having a dream job and all, crossing path with maestros and unreachable stars, but along the way you've missed what you really want to be and this movie has enlightened me.
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BRAVO, what a charming, playful, subtle, witty and original movie this is. A delight to watch!
The story: a young woman leaves everything behind to become a writer in the big city New York. Will she succeed or will she become another failed writer?
The good: this movie is a delight, because of it's playful, charming, subtle and witty nature. You dont have to be into books at all to love this movie.
What's most precious for me about this movie is the photography, especially the many GORGEOUS still screen shots of MARGARET QUALLEY. Those eyes of her, those wide open puppy eyes, ooze innocence and emotions so pure and gentle that they are to die for! Never seen this actress before, but I am instantly smitten with her acting performance, so delicate, so true to life, so expressive.
Any bad? This is a slowburning, subtle story, probably best suited for an arthouse movie audience who are into subtle portraits of characters.
A FEAST to watch! Amazing to see it has only gotten 62 reviews, but it must be the corona troubles with distributing movies that this movie has slipped from the radar, because it is definitely worth watching every single minute. What a GEM! -
mycannonball23 February 2022This is a charming character story, and you love literature and the allure of the publishing world, this will probably appeal to you. It lacks too much weight when it comes to the plot, but it has some nice emotional payoffs and fun scenes.
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Initial Thoughts: If you skim just the surface this is a poetic masterpiece. The camerawork is amazing and is fluid. It tries to bring you into the story. Yet for all its comings and goings this film falls flat on it's face. Instead of trying to bring you in and find a love of reading it focuses more on the personal feelings of our protagonist Joanna rather than her love of books or writing. The overall feeling of the film is that it's too rigid. It feels too much like a library where any step you take may usher in a "shh" from an unexpecting librarian. I so desperately wanted to love this movie as it was one of my movies to watch this year and yet I was left with disappointment. Everything feels like you're walking on eggshells.
Cons of the film include a poor introduction to Salinger, a flip-floppy Sigourney Weaver (she never finds a good edge for me), too much focus on Joanna's emotions of failure instead of yearning to break the shell of writing (would've been nice to see her succeed in her passion), and yet not enough emotion to care about the outcome of the story.
Pros of the film include great camera work that pulls you into the film, a poetic fluidity that provides the base for a decent story (yet ultimately fails), and a decent range of ethnicity that doesn't focus on just white casting.
Overall: A poetic film that doesn't capture the emotions properly. Although I love movies and like books, I don't find the two blend well in this film. If this is a movie you've been wanting to watch, wait for it to come out on a streaming service, or another way you can watch it for free.
"Should I watch this movie?" My answer is 'Yes and no as it doesn't meet my expectations, but it may meet yours'.
Enjoy the show! -
fabricio-887699 January 2021This is quiet and lovely; I don't understand the low score.
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mabaker_brahvi17 March 2021What a gem of a movie.Personally i felt that the ending should have been more complete.
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contactmaz19 September 2021Sigourney Weaver is always good and in this film, she was pretty awesome. But the film was boring and after watching it, you realise that nothing actually happened for it to be a good film.
It could have been much better but it failed on plot, some weak actors, and a really crappy story!