The Film Club

The Film Club by David Gilmour is the November edition of our little bookclub, picked by Kat (in case you're wondering, we drew names for each month except October).  It did look intriguing, a memoir written by a film critic who made the decision to let his son (Jesse) drop out of high school so long as the two watched three movies a week together.  It reads very fast so I finished it off the other night.

I regret to say I am underwhelmed by The Film Club.  I was hoping there would be a little more film criticism/theory, in that Gilmour would include more real discussion about the films he watched with his son.  The book instead is a memoir of Gilmour's attempt to keep his son engaged with the world by letting the kid do something he likes - watch movies - instead of what he has no interest in - go to school - with some film trivia mixed in.  As a memoir, I really don't feel anything for David, Jesse, Maggie (Jesse's mom), Tina (David's wife), or any of Jesse's spoiled girlfriends.  There is a detachment - I'm not sure if it's the writing or just the subject matter.  I did find there was an alphabetical list in the back with all the movies the two watched over the years but it's just a list, nothing more.

Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge Count: 7/10

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