Delayed Reaction: Rebel in the Rye

Premise: A biopic about reclusive author J.D. Salinger.

 

When J.D. Salinger died in 2010, I thought that was going to open the floodgates of content about him. He was famously reclusive. Despite The Catcher in the Rye being a high school English class staple for decades, a book that millions of teens have related to, it's never been made into a film. Little was known about Salinger's life. He didn't publish anything for the last 4 decades of his life. Many assumed there was a treasure trove of unpublished works just waiting to go public after his death.

 

For whatever reason though, that never really happened. To my knowledge, no new works have been published. None of the kids from Stranger Things have been cast as Holden Caufield in the film adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye. Salacious details of Salinger's life haven't been uncovered. Rebel in the Rye is the only piece of pop culture from the last decade about Salinger I've found. And it isn't much.

 

Nicholas Hoult is fine playing another famous 20th Century author (never forget Tolkien). Other than the fact that he dated Oona O'Neill before she married Charlie Chaplin, there's not much interesting about Salinger's life. He came from a well-to-do family. He went to a great school to become an author. Like many of his generation, he got sidetracked by WWII. He found increased success after the war, culminating in The Catcher in the Rye. Then he moved to the country because he didn't like the fame. There isn't much there to make into a movie. It doesn't help that I think we've all had our fill of tortured genius movies. I did find it funny that Zoey Deutch was prominent in the marketing of the movie but was barely in it. Her entire role could've been written out without consequence. Granted, I'd never ask for less Zoey Deutch.

 

One thing about the movie I did find refreshing was that it came to the defense of editor's notes. I loved the scene where Salinger is talking to the guy from the New Yorker. Salinger starts off defensive about the notes, treating them like demands and a compromise of his artistic vision. The editor instead tells him, no, they're just suggestions. They are trying to help. The same with Salinger's relationship with the professor played by Kevin Spacey. He's there to help and make Salinger better. Too many movies treat writers as fully formed, writing everything perfectly in one draft. This movie does a great job pushing back on that notion.

 

Otherwise though, it's a pretty generic biopic that struggles to justify why it isn't just a Wikipedia page.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend