Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark

Kellow's book is both compelling and frustrating. He does a nice job on the biographical research. I enjoyed reading about her youth spent growing up in Petaluma, the college days in Berkeley, the early sojurn to New York and then her start in earnest as a film critic in San Francisco. I wish that Kael's daughter, Gina James, would have talked to Kellow. Mother/Daughter had an unusually close, co-dependent relationship. Hearing James' insight about her mother would have provided further shading on a woman who could be difficult to figure out. The weakest point of the book is in Kellow's assertions that Kael was unprofessional. He believes that her friendships and working relationships with the actors, directors and producers in Hollywood tainted her critical voice. Anyone who has read Kael in detail knows this isn't true. She routinely panned movies by directors she admired (Scorsesse, Altman) and would offer praise to directors she hated if they delivered a movie that she liked (Herbert Ross - 'Pennies from Heaven', Alan Parker - 'Shoot the Moon'). If mixing socially with the people she was reviewing presented a conflict of interest you'd never know it from her reviews.