Delayed Reaction: Jane

The Pitch: Here's the story of the female primate researcher with a happy ending.

A documentary about the work and life of Jane Goodall, using archival footage that was previously believed to be lost.

There isn't a lot to say about this one. It's a really well-made documentary. Jane Goodall's story isn't tragic like Diane Fossey's. She came out of her days researching pretty unscathed. All this footage they found is great. They could really tell a narrative with the footage. That's something a lot of documentaries can't do. I like the way it mixed the chapters of Jane's life with different narratives with the chimpanzees. The tone was a little weird sometimes. Goodall is so used to scientific observation, that she would speak of her own life in the same way. It sounded a little cold, like she was reading about her life rather than remembering it. That's not an accident. It's the effect that to documentary wanted, I'm pretty sure. It just threw me off.

I didn't love this enough to be upset over the nomination fiasco which left this snubbed for the Oscar last year. It really should've been nominated though. I've seen most of the movies that were nominated. I liked this better than all of them.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend