Life Itself (2014)

*** ½ out of ****

It's funny – sometimes the death of someone we never met resonates more than the loss of someone we knew well. Often this happens with TV or movie stars – people that you had come to feel emotionally connected to from characters they played. I generally write those kind of reactions off because we really didn't know them at all, we just knew the characters they protrayed. But I was really deeply saddened by the passing of Roger Ebert in 2013 because I really DID know him. Not personally, as we never met, and he would never have known of my existence. But through his writings, which as a journalist, critic and blogger were deeply personal and often remarkably intimate, I really did know him. And I had such deep respect for him that I greatly mourned his passing.

“Life Itself” was the name of Roger's autobiography, which was exceptional. This film is equally exceptional, though extremely different. The book traced Roger's life, his experiences and his feelings about the world (in particular as viewed through cinema) while the film is mostly a tribute to the man and a depiction of his difficult final months. The film spends time describing his origins and his career, and more exploring his relationship with his TV partner Gene Siskel. All of that is interesting, though covered much more in-depth and intimately in his book. But what the film succeeds in is really personalizing the plight at the end of his life.

After several surgeries to remove cancer from his face and jaw, Roger was left literally voiceless. His lower jaw, much of his tongue and the entire bottom half of his mouth had been removed, with his lower lip and chin dangling in an odd perennial grin. From that time on he was only able to communicate through his keyboard, and writing his blog became a big part of his life. In “Life Itself” we see Roger through several months in the hospital after cancer was discovered in his hips and spine, and then through his final days.

And though I hate to say it, as it seems morbid, macabre and almost indecent, but watching this happen is fascinating. Roger found love later in life with his wife Chaz, and their love and relationship form the real heart of the film. She is clearly an incredibly tough lady, and though I'm sure she had her moments of weakness, she always shows Roger a brave face and provides an assurance of her devotion to him that I'm certain gave him a great deal of peace. I didn't enjoy watching him deteriorate, but I greatly enjoyed watching them love each other as it happened.

Roger estimated that he had reviewed some 6,000 films. Personally I think that's a bit of an underestimation – I think he wrote more. But what I loved so much about his writing was how personal he made it. Sometimes he wrote about technical details and the finer points of movie-making, but what I loved was that he wrote about how the film made him feel. And in at least nine out of ten instances, he would describe exactly how it made ME feel. That was my connection to him – I felt he and I must share a lot of personality traits, because so often I would be nodding along, agreeing how he hit the nail right on the head.

One recent example was for the lovely comedy “About Time” (2013). Roger wrote: “I cannot help but fall for Richard Curtis's rather self-indulgent romantic comedies. My level head might be crying 'No,' but my lopsided heart can't help but say yes..... Something about Curtis's films allow cinematic endorphins to be released into the brain and generate a state of euphoria that is akin to absolute bliss. To experience it, you just have to allow the analytical parts of your mind to unclench during the dodgier bits of business—all these pasty well-off people and their problems, oh woe is them!—and go with the feel-good flow.”

This summed up my feelings exactly. There are time-paradox and metaphysical issues galore in “About Time” but it is a heart-wrenching, glorious film that leaves you feeling wonderful despite the tears in your eyes. I have a hundred examples of when Roger reached me personally with his writing, but they are all the same. His unapologetic love for films, and his insistence of seeing each movie for what it was meant to be rather than through the stodgy glasses of the typical critic is what made him so special.

I am glad that Roger's suffering is over. I'm glad that he leaves a wonderful website behind where his life's work will always be available to read. I'm glad that he wrote a wonderful autobiography that allowed me to know him even more intimately. And I'm glad he was a brave enough man to let them film much of his final months so a proper tribute could be given to him. But most of all I'm glad he lived here on earth and shared himself with us. This film is a nice tribute, and loving farewell to a meaningful life. 

Good bye Roger. See you at the movies.