genius movie review in english

Film Review: ‘Genius’

Michael Grandage's homage to one of the great unsung heroes of American literature feels lifeless, despite its all-star cast.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Of all the fruits of genius that exist in the world, writing is perhaps the least dramatic to depict onscreen. Where other movies give us mad painters splashing away at canvases or tortured mathematicians scribbling equations on window panes, literary biopics typically fall back on lonely men seated at their desks, wresting sheets of paper from a typewriter, only to crumple each one up and begin again. But great writing isn’t an entirely solitary process, and though Michael Grandage ’s dull, dun-colored “Genius” makes every effort to credit the editor’s role in shaping the century’s great novels, it’s nobody’s idea of interesting to watch someone wield his red pencil over the pile of pages that would become Thomas Wolfe’s “Look Homeward, Angel,” even if the editor in question is the great Maxwell Perkins. While the talent involved should draw smarthouse crowds, the result has all the life of a flower pressed between “Angel’s” pages 87 years ago.

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Over the course of his nearly-four-decade career with Charles Scriber’s Sons, Perkins (played by Colin Firth ) fought hard to bring the best works of Wolfe ( Jude Law ), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) and Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West) to the general public. Judging by the cast of “Genius,” one might never guess that these literary figures were in fact Americans, as Grandage (that dare-we-say genius of the London stage) has loaded his big-screen debut with the finest British and Australian stars of the Miramax generation, including a reunion of “Cold Mountain” lovers Law and Nicole Kidman , who plays Wolfe’s patron, Aline Bernstein.

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Because the actual business of editing — during which Perkins so casually marks up a Hemingway manuscript whose every word might be considered sacred today — can only be expected to hold our interest in brief intervals, Logan’s script focuses on the interpersonal dynamic between this literary gatekeeper and his greatest discovery. (Both Fitzgerald and Faulkner had been published before, whereas Wolfe, who’d been rejected by every company in town, was losing faith that his words “were worth a dime.”)

According to A. Scott Berg’s biography, “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius,” upon which the movie is based, Perkins wasn’t entirely the musty, moth-eaten figure the dubiously accented Firth makes him out to be here. (The actor is either wearing false teeth, choking on a cracker or both.) Perkins was a fighter who put his own reputation on the line for the talents he believed in, and none would have demanded more defending than Wolfe, whose 1,000-page, single-spaced, typewritten first manuscript begins mid-sentence and unfurls in what appears to be a series of endless paragraphs. But gosh darn it, the thing sure does make Perkins’ eyes moisten, and together, they bludgeon it into one of Scriber’s unlikeliest bestsellers, with nary a note of skepticism from the editor’s superiors.

The next book, which Wolfe hand-delivers in a series of crates, is an even more daunting task, running nearly five times as long … and counting, since Wolfe refuses to stop writing. Whipping “Of Time and the River” into shape will take at least nine months of after-hours editing sessions — and more like two years, when all is said and done. It’s enough to raise concerns on the part of both Bernstein and Perkins’ own wife, Louise Saunders (Laura Linney, rendered almost lifeless). The men are not having an affair, of course, but it’s perhaps the best metaphor a screenwriter can find for such an intense professional connection, where a form of love exists on both sides, the sheer intensity of which threatens the romantic partners who feel sidelined by the project.

For this particular storytelling approach to work, however, audiences must also find themselves seduced by the figures in question — a tall order in a movie that’s overwritten, over-scored and wildly overacted by thesps who should all know better. In scenes that effectively seem to have been marinated in music, Law bellows and gesticulates like a barn-raised carnival barker, braying his lines from memory, rather than from the marrow of the tortured poet he’s playing. Though there’s altogether too much of it, Logan has written some splendid dialogue, trying to channel the voice of a writer who couldn’t stop the words from flowing. Pity, then, that most of the time, you just want Wolfe to shut up.

Even Firth’s modesty feels disingenuous, practically pantomimed for effect. Grandage may know how to direct actors for the stage, but this new medium calls for subtlety. When shot in relative closeup, Firth is capable of conveying volumes with the slightest shift of the eye, but here, Grandage gives the character elaborate gestures. To read a letter, he might stand up from his desk, cross his office and shut the door. Watch how uneasy he looks — not so much in character, but in the scene itself — during a trip to a jazz club, where Wolfe requests a lively version of “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton” to illustrate the difference between his style and that of Scriber’s star Henry James.

It’s a turning point in Perkins and Wolfe’s relationship, like the one where he kicks in the window of the tenement where Wolfe wrote “Look Homeward, Angel,” but both characters’ actions feel telegraphed. They don’t look, move or speak like believable people, and the airless sepia look of the film doesn’t help. From its ill-advised tone-setting opener, which fades from black-and-white to the still nearly-monochromatic dust hue that characterizes the rest of the picture, “Genius” is the sort of period re-creation where everyone seems to be wearing 80-year-old costumes. Even Wolfe’s manuscript looks old, like it’s been pulled out of deep storage, rather than written on whatever paper he could get his hands on.

For a film that speaks of writers whose vivid modern voice transformed the shape of American fiction, “Genius” merely reminds us how, for all the excitement critics and readers showered upon him during the day, Wolfe has faded from our must-read lists. He’s a taxing presence, using up all the oxygen in rooms where someone really ought to open the windows. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald and Hemingway (who’ve benefited from far more frequent screen appearances) are reduced to cameos, making one long even for the liveliness their characters brought to “Midnight in Paris.” When Wolfe goes to Paris, he’s merely stepped from one series of drearily set-dressed backdrops to another, where a flower cart and an awning are somehow meant to stand in for Europe.

Of all the characters, the one who seems to take Grandage’s theatricality best is Bernstein, who treats the world as her stage, giving Kidman a chance to camp things up as she pops pills, brandishes a tiny purse pistol and delivers the film’s most unfortunate line: “I don’t exist anymore. I’ve been edited.” The real question was never meant to be which of these two, mistress or editor, gets most of Wolfe’s time, but whether Perkins truly found an unrefined diamond and made it shine, or if Wolfe’s genius was somehow “O Lost” along the way. To answer that, one really ought to be looking to a book, rather than its relatively wooden adaptation.

Reviewed at Soho House, Berlin, Feb. 14, 2016. (In Berlin Film Festival — competing.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 104 MIN.

• Production: (U.K.-U.S.) A Lionsgate release of a Riverstone Pictures presentation, in association with Pinewood Pictures, Film Nation Entertainment, of a Desert Wolf Prods., Michael Grandage Co. production. Produced by Michael Grandage, John Logan. Executive producers, James J. Bagley, A. Scott Berg, Tim Bevan, Nik Bower, Arielle Tepper Madover, Deepak Nayar. Co-producer, Tracey Seaward.
• Crew: Directed by Michael Grandage. Screenplay, John Logan, based on the book “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius” by A. Scott Berg. Camera (color, widescreen), Ben Davis; editor, Chris Dickens; music, Adam Cork; production designer, Mark Digby; supervising art director, Patrick Rolfe; art director, Alex Baily, Gareth Cousins; costume designer, Jane Petrie; sound (Dolby Digital), Peter Lindsay; supervising sound editor, Ian Wilson; re-recording mixers, Andrew Caller, Ian Tapp; visual effects supervisor, Adam Gascoyne; visual effects coordinator, Jenny King; stunt coordinator, James Grogan; special effects supervisor, Neal Champion; assistant director, Deborah Saban; casting, Jina Jay.
• With: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Guy Pearce, Dominic West, Vanessa Kirby.

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FILM REVIEW: Genius (2016)

Genius is a love song to the passion of writing, books and the necessity of a good editor. Every serious reader, and historical movie buff, will enjoy every second.

It tells the story of legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins, of Scribner’s in New York, and the volatile writer, Thomas Wolfe, of Asheville, NC.

When a sizeable manuscript (the height of a water glass was my estimate) by a young Thomas Wolfe lands on Perkins’ desk, having been rejected by every other publishing house in New York, he very quietly eyes it, then goes back to editing the Fitzgerald book lying before him.

Later he pulls the manuscript out of his briefcase on his train ride home and begins to read.

The genius of the film is in its understated details. Perkins, played by Colin Firth, comes into his lovely home, is greeted by his wife and her theatrical society acting a scene, his five daughters with random attacks of affection, before he can finally settled in his clothes closet for some privacy to keep reading.

Back at the office, Wolfe (Jude Law) enters with all the bruised enthusiasm of rejected young writers of rejected, desperately talented young writers who expect nothing but a brush off and maybe a “No, thanks.” He is almost in tears when Perkin accepts his work, O Lost. It will become his first massive hit, Look Homeward, Angel.

Set in the 1920s and 1930s, Genius is more a play versus film. You could see it performed on a Broadway stage. It’s for the audience that’s read the great American writers of the 1920s – F. Scott Fitzgerald ( The Great Gatsby ), Ernest Hemingway ( A Farewell to Arms ) and Thomas Wolfe.

Perkins was their editor, hand-holder, cash supplier and shoulder to cry on. When the care of Fitzgerald’s mentally ill wife, Zelda, swamps the writer, Perkins lends him money. Hemingway takes Perkins fishing in Key West before leaving for the Spanish Civil War. They were his literary “children” and he cared for them.

Speaking personally, I’ve always considered a first draft as like an untamed shrubbery, full of unnecessary branches and florid leaves. The draft that goes to an editor should be already trimmed down considerably. Then the wise editor does what they do best – makes it sing, or points out where the writer’s gone right or wrong. Or leaves out a verb or two.

As shown in Genius , Perkins was a master at his job by his handling of the Wolfe novel, Of Time and the River. Wolfe showed up with three boxes of hand-written and occasionally typed pages. Perkins sends him away, and gets the pages typed, then settles into read. It will take years to shape the classic book.

It is very clear that, to Wolfe, the world revolves about his writing. His passion is for the creation of the word, the indulgence imagery, and the vividness of life. Every cut is a negotiation between him and Perkins.

Perkins finally tells him, “My only job is to put good books in front of readers.”

Genius also shows the darker part of Wolfe.

Over the years, Wolfe’s arrogance, the flip side of his brilliance, becomes unruly. He is selfish. He hurts the people around him, in particular the married woman who lived with him and loved him, Aline Bernstein. She finally returns to her husband and children, considerably burned by flying too close to Wolfe’s fire.

It takes years but Wolfe finally outstays his welcome with Perkins and leaves for another publisher. He died at 37 of tuberculosis of the brain, leaving a note to Perkins acknowledging his help in realizing his novels.

So, why spend an afternoon seeing a film about a writer and his editor? Because it’s an ode to the joy of writing, the passion that drives writers to sit inside telling stories that may never be read but have to be set down in print because characters demand it. Non-writers might get insight in what drives writers. Writers will just want a Max Perkins.

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Even at Its Most Dynamic, Genius Is Still a Movie About Book Editing

Is there any profession less cinematic than book editing? I say that with enormous respect, given that my wife edits books (and damn good ones). But in all the years I’ve watched her pore over manuscripts and wrestle over phrasing with authors both grateful and intransigent, and beam when that first printed book arrives in the mail (after so many hassles over covers and flap copy), I’ve never thought, This would make a great movie!

But the new film Genius does a pretty good job of capturing the peculiar drama of the relationship between editors and writers, in this case some of the most revered in American letters: Max Perkins, an editor at of Scribner’s, and, in alphabetical order, authors F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe. It’s the bond with Wolfe that occupies most of the movie’s running time. At the start, Perkins (Colin Firth) gets a fat manuscript plopped on his desk — a novel turned down by every other publisher in New York. He reads a few lines, then a few more. He reads on the train to his impressive Connecticut home and over dinner as his wife and kids visibly wilt from neglect. The book is the sprawling first draft of what would come to be called Look Homeward, Angel . Just as Perkins finishes, Wolfe appears at the door, uninvited and unannounced. As played by Jude Law, he’s a disarmingly extroverted Southerner, high on his own persona. And Perkins is oddly smitten.

So how do the filmmakers make editing cinematic? Perkins and Wolfe go mano a mano over booze and cigarettes. They edit while hurrying down the street. They edit in bars. Other male characters in movies play increasingly fierce squash. These guys do increasingly fierce rewrites . A description of a woman’s eyes goes from a logjam of metaphors to the simple observation that they’re blue. And to be fair, Perkins worries aloud near the end of Genius that he has straitjacketed his authors, paring away the passionate excess that made them unique. The movie lets that self-doubt hang, which is a good thing. Editors — even great ones — should always cut with humility.

But if you’re looking for something more than line editing, look elsewhere — perhaps to A. Scott Berg’s 1978 biography, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius . (The title, of course, is a double entendre.) You wouldn’t know from the film what Look Homeward, Angel is about, much less its author’s vision of the universe and the place of humans in it. The focus is firmly on length and on the emotional intensity of the haggling. Wolfe’s high-strung lover, Aileen Bernstein (Nicole Kidman), warns Perkins that he has been seduced and will be abandoned down the road, but Perkins — buttoned up, always wearing a hat — is not a man to worry about such a thing. It is beyond his purview.

Watching Genius , you might have the nagging sense that the most vivid stuff is occurring offscreen, when the other characters leave Perkins and go back to their messy lives. And while that might be the point  — we’ve had plenty of self-destructive author biopics, but none that focused on people who tried to instill discipline in them — it makes for half-baked drama. It doesn’t help that the first-time film director, Michael Grandage (the artistic director of London’s Donmar Warehouse), has gone the British-prestige route. It’s terribly high-toned. And with the exception of Laura Linney in a minor role as Perkins’s wife, a middlebrow playwright, the actors are all Brits and Aussies. It’s as if Americans can’t be trusted to play quintessentially American literary figures.

Firth isn’t bad. In some ways, he’s perfect — as beige as the part demands. Guy Pearce isn’t a bad Fitzgerald, either, although he’s a controlled actor and doesn’t convey what a sniveling wreck the man was at the end of his talent. Dominic West is a solid Hemingway. Kidman gives a brittle, pungent performance as the Jewish costume and set designer who left her husband and two kids for Wolfe, but it seems as if her specialty has become getting by in parts in which she’s totally miscast.

For better or worse, Jude Law carries Genius . Does he overact? Perhaps, but he does suggest that it’s also Wolfe who’s overacting, putting on a grand show to keep his vulnerability at bay. Thank heaven Law gave up the leading-man game and went back to character parts, in which he always goes for broke. But neither he nor Genius is ingenious enough to make you think, We need more movies about editing!

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Genius Movie

Who's Involved:

Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Jude Law, John Logan, Michael Grandage, A. Scott Berg, James Bierman

Release Date:

Friday, June 10, 2016 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

GENIUS centers on the real-life relationship between literary giant Thomas Wolfe and renowned editor Max Perkins (Firth). Finding fame and critical success at a young age, Wolfe is a blazing talent with a larger-than-life personality to match. Perkins is one of the most respected and well-known literary editors of all time, discovering such iconic novelists as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Wolfe and Perkins develop a tender, complex friendship. Transformative and irrepressible, this friendship will change the lives of these brilliant, but very different men forever.

official plot version from filmnation.com

4.22 / 5 stars ( 9 users)

Poll: Will you see Genius?

Who stars in Genius: Cast List

Colin Firth ... Max Perkins

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, Mamma Mia!  

Nicole Kidman ... Aline Bernstein

Babygirl, The Perfect Couple (series)  

Jude Law ... Thomas Wolfe

Side Effects, The Order  

Who's making Genius: Crew List

A look at the Genius behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Michael Grandage last directed My Policeman . The film's writer John Logan last wrote They/Them and Spectre .

Michael Grandage

Screenwriter

Production Companies

Michael Grandage Company

River Road Entertainment (Former)

FilmNation Entertainment

Watch Genius Trailers & Videos

Theatrical Trailer

Production: what we know about genius.

• Based on an inspirational true story. Adapted from A. Scott Berg's biography, "Max Perkins: Editor of Genius."

Filming Timeline

• 2015 - October : The film was set to Completed  status.
• 2015 - June : The film was set to Post-Production  status.
• 2014 - June : The film was set to Pre-Production  status.

Principal photography is scheduled to start early in 2014. FilmNation Entertainment will handle international sales.

• 2012 - November : The film was set to Announced  status.
• 2010 - August : The film was set to Development  status.
• 2010 - August : The film was set to Announced  status.
• 2004 - December : The film was set to Concept  status.

Genius Release Date: When was the film released?

Genius was a Limited release in 2016 on Friday, June 10, 2016 . There were 10 other movies released on the same date, including The Conjuring 2 , Now You See Me 2 and WarCraft . As a Limited release, Genius will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

Genius DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When is the film coming out?

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Genius, film review: Michael Grandage should have stuck to his day job

The acting, along with john logan’s script, belongs to the theatre, article bookmarked.

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Genius is a lesson in the differences between film and theatre as mediums. Michael Grandage, one of the great theatre directors of our times, has made a move into cinema with a dialogue-heavy story about the father-and-son-esque relationship between Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) and the great American editor Max Perkins (Colin Firth).

Made up largely of conversations – including way too many in which Perkins discusses ways for Wolfe to cut down his prose – the story indulges in long scenes focused on dialogue. When Grandage decides scenes are running on too long, he just changes the location, so exchanges jump from the office to stations, to trains and to the street, but the waffling continues.

The acting, along with John Logan’s script, belongs to the theatre. Law seems to think he’s back in the West End acting in Hamlet . At a dinner with the larger Perkins family, Wolfe likens himself to an octopus. This tidbit seems to have governed Law’s big performance; constantly he’s seen throwing his arms around like he’s had an electric shock.

One aspect in which he is not like an octopus, however, is that the mollusc can constantly change its appearance. In contrast, Law delivers a one-note performance of pained expressions where his Wolfe is constantly verging on implosion.

Another missed opportunity is in the depiction of Perkins, the editor of not just Wolfe, but also F Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce) and Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West).

These two authors appear briefly, as interludes, but one wishes they were given their own acts, as in these moments there are glimpses of how Perkins needed to act like the manager of a sports team, using different tactics to bring out the best in his team of players.

However, the biggest impression left by Firth’s Perkins is that he is always wearing a hat, whether he’s working in his office, or at home in his pyjamas.

In the film, Perkins protests when Wolfe wants to dedicate his second book to him – which goes against the fact that at the time of his death in 1947, 68 books under his charge had been dedicated to him.

An interesting tangent that Grandage threatens to go down, but then pulls back from, is in the relationship between the two men and the women in their lives.

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Perkin’s wife and the mother of his five daughters, Louise Saunders, is played exquisitely by Laura Linney. When she tells Wolfe that she is a playwright, both Wolfe and her husband ignore her, a slight suggestive of misogyny, yet little more is made of this. Similarly, designer Aline Bernstein (Nicole Kidman), a progressive and forthright woman who dated Wolfe, is seen too fleetingly to be any more than the forlorn girlfriend.

As for his directing style, Grandage opts for still, fixed cameras, which adds to the sense that he is more comfortable framing to a stage. When the camera moves, it’s in classical slow pans, accompanied by an overbearing score. Sound edits are often used to adjoin scenes.

Grandage is a stage musician, but there is a Spanish expression that seems apt for his first cinema foray, since here, he’s more lost than an octopus in a garage.

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• End of the Tour, The
• Erin Brockovich
• Exorcism of Emily Rose, The
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
• Eyes of Tammy Faye, The
• Fabelmans, The
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• Fighter, The
• Fighting with My Family
• Finding Neverland
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• Five Days at Memorial
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• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Ford v Ferrari
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• Free State of Jones
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• Goldbergs, The
• Good Nurse, The
• Good on Paper
• Goodbye Christopher Robin
• Gran Turismo
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• Gridiron Gang
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• Heaven is for Real
• Hidden Figures
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• Hollywoodland
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• Inventing Anna
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• Jerry and Marge Go Large
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• League of Their Own, A
• Lone Survivor
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• McFarland, USA
• Megan Leavey
• Men of Honor
• Military Wives
• Million Dollar Arm
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• Miracles from Heaven
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• Mothman Prophecies, The
• Mrs. America
• Munich: The Edge of War
• My All American
• Next Goal Wins
• Not Without My Daughter
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• On a Wing and a Prayer
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
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• Only the Brave
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• Wolf of Wall Street, The
• Woman in Gold
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• Young Woman and the Sea
• Zookeeper's Wife, The

Genius: History vs. Hollywood

Did Thomas Wolfe really struggle to get his first novel published?

Yes. Like in the Genius movie, the true story confirms that Thomas Wolfe's manuscript, which was over 1,100 pages (roughly three times longer than the average novel), was turned down by a number of publishers before it was read by Max Perkins and accepted at Scribner's. Unlike what is seen in the movie, Perkins initially dismissed the book until the enthusiasm of colleague Wallace Meyer caused him to change his mind. Perkins cut some 66,000 words before it was eventually published as Look Homeward, Angel . -North Carolina Digital History The real Thomas Wolfe (left) is portrayed by British actor Jude Law (right) in the Genius movie.

Did Thomas Wolfe change the title of his first book in a moment of enlightenment?

No. According to Editor of Genius author A. Scott Berg, Max Perkins and colleague John Hall Wheelock chose the new title "Look Homeward, Angel" from a list that Thomas Wolfe had given them.

Which famous authors was Maxwell Perkins responsible for publishing?

Following his graduation from Harvard College in 1907, Maxwell Perkins was employed as a reporter at The New York Times . In 1910, he took a job at the respected publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons. He married Louise Saunders that same year (portrayed by Laura Linney in the movie). At Scribner's, he focused on courting younger writers, discovering F. Scott Fitzgerald ( The Great Gatsby ) and Ernest Hemingway ( A Farewell to Arms ). Like in the movie, his greatest struggle as an editor came when he met Thomas Wolfe, a genius who lacked discipline as a writer. -Biography.com Perkins worked with many other notable authors over the course of his career, including John P. Marquand ( The Late George Apley ), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings ( The Yearling ), Alan Paton ( Cry, the Beloved Country ), James Jones ( From Here to Eternity ), and others.

Did Thomas Wolfe really have a problem keeping the size of his novels within reason?

Yes. Fact-checking the Genius movie confirmed that Thomas Wolfe's tendency to not want to cut anything from his novels and to continually want to add more pages, presented a challenge for his editor, Max Perkins. At the insistence of Perkins, Wolfe reluctantly agreed to cut 90,000 words from his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel (1929). The publishing of Thomas Wolfe's second novel, Of Time and the River (1935), was the result of a two-year long battle that saw Wolfe continually trying to add pages while Perkins struggled to make edits and hold his stance on size. The original version of the book was four times as large as the uncut version of his first novel, making it approximately ten times the length of the average novel. Indeed, editing was needed and in an odd way, Perkins welcomed the challenge. Constantly trying to contain the size of Wolfe's novel became a sort of obsession for Perkins. -Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

How much older was Aline Bernstein than Thomas Wolfe?

In real life, costume designer Aline Bernstein, portrayed by Nicole Kidman, was 18 years older than her lover, author Thomas Wolfe.

Did Wolfe's lover Aline Bernstein try to commit suicide?

Yes, but the movie suggests that Aline Bernstein had swallowed at least some of the pills before Tom Wolfe could slap them from her hands. In real life, Max Perkins rang the elevator bell to summon the building's night watchman, who got them to a dermatologist working late in her office. The doctor called the pharmacy and determined that all the pills were accounted for. -Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

Did Max Perkins turn down an invitation to go fishing with Ernest Hemingway because of his struggle with Thomas Wolfe?

Yes, the Genius true story reveals that author Ernest Hemingway, who had been discovered by Max Perkins, indeed invited the editor to go on a Key West fishing excursion with him. Perkins turned him down, stating, "I am engaged in a kind of life and death struggle with Mr. Thomas Wolfe still, and it is likely to last through the summer." He is referring to the struggle of having to constantly try to edit Wolfe's second book, Of Time and the River , to keep the size down. It was a colossal task because Wolfe continually submitted more pages and argued against any cuts. -Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

Why did Thomas Wolfe cut ties with Charles Scribner's Sons and editor Max Perkins?

In a November 1936 letter to Maxwell Perkins, Thomas Wolfe addresses his decision to sever ties with the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons, thereby ending his working relationship with editor Perkins. Wolfe cites their "differences of opinion and belief" and "the fundamental disagreements" that they openly and passionately had discussed "a thousand times." In the end, he felt Scribner's had reshaped his second book, Of Time and the River , into a standard assembly-line novel that no longer resembled what he had written. Some critics suggested that the editor Perkins, not the author Wolfe, was responsible for most of the book's success, a notion that upset Wolfe and left him wanting to prove otherwise. In addition, Scribner's was insisting that Wolfe settle a $125,000 lawsuit brought by his ex-landlords, who claimed that Wolfe had libeled them in various passages of his novella No Door . Wolfe adamantly opposed the accusation. The suit (not mentioned in the movie) was settled but Wolfe felt that in turn Scribner's had betrayed him. He parted ways with the publishing house in January 1937. -The American Reader The real Max Perkins (left) and British actor Colin Firth (right) in the movie.

Was Thomas Wolfe and Maxwell Perkins' relationship in any way romantic?

Though the movie at times edges on a near-romantic relationship between Wolfe and his editor Perkins, others have described the real Max Perkins as being more of a father figure to Wolfe. Indeed there was a special bond between the two men, as evidenced in Wolfe's letters to Perkins and Perkins' own remarks about Wolfe, calling their friendship "one of the greatest things in my life" ( Publishers Weekly ). Despite some speculation, there is little doubt that the two were just very close friends.

Are any of the actors portraying Americans in the movie actually American?

For the most part, no, and this has been a slight point of contention for some critics and viewers. Colin Firth, who portrays Maxwell Perkins, is British. Jude Law is British. Dominic West (Hemingway in the movie) is British and Guy Pearce (F. Scott Fitzgerald) is Australian. As for the women, Australian Nicole Kidman portrays costume designer Aline Bernstein and Brit Vanessa Kirby is Zelda Fitzgerald. Of the actors in lead roles, only Laura Linney, who portrays Perkins' wife Louise, is American.

Watch the Genius trailer for the film starring Colin Firth and Jude Law as Max Perkins and Thomas Wolfe. The movie preview highlights the turbulent working relationship between the editor and author.

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Common Sense Media Review

Disney alter ego comedy has positive messages, role models.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Genius is a lighthearted family comedy with positive messages, strong role models, and no iffy content. The story centers around 14-year-old Charlie (Trevor Morgan), a child genius who creates an alter ego in order to make new friends and impress a girl. Made by the Disney Channel in…

Why Age 8+?

A few playground insults and teasing, including "stupid," "brainiac," "losers,"

Some aggression on the hockey rink, often portrayed as slapstick.

One gentle kiss between teens.

Any Positive Content?

The importance of friendship and teamwork, and what it means to be inclusive. Un

Charlie is enthusiastic and determined, passionate about both science and sport,

Though the movie is intended to entertain rather than educate, kids may be inspi

Very little diversity in a story largely about White, straight, neurotypical, ab

A few playground insults and teasing, including "stupid," "brainiac," "losers," "jerk," and "kick his butt." A hockey coach addresses the male team as "ladies."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The importance of friendship and teamwork, and what it means to be inclusive. Understanding that people aren't always as they first appear and appreciating the value of honesty and being your true self. What it means to help out your friends and to make amends when you've let people down. Understanding that if you want something to change, you need to do things differently.

Positive Role Models

Charlie is enthusiastic and determined, passionate about both science and sport, with a charming, positive attitude. His deceptive actions are well balanced by his good intentions. Claire is bright, smart, and friendly, demonstrating a natural confidence. Charlie's father is loving, supportive, and proud of his son. Dr. Krickstein is full of respect and admiration for Charlie. Charlie's college roommates are arrogant and sexist at first -- but they grow into warm, likable characters.

Educational Value

Though the movie is intended to entertain rather than educate, kids may be inspired to learn more about science.

Diverse Representations

Very little diversity in a story largely about White, straight, neurotypical, able-bodied, financially-comfortable characters. There are two Black characters in supporting roles.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Genius is a lighthearted family comedy with positive messages, strong role models, and no iffy content. The story centers around 14-year-old Charlie ( Trevor Morgan ), a child genius who creates an alter ego in order to make new friends and impress a girl. Made by the Disney Channel in 1999 it has a notable lack of diversity among the cast and within the story. There is some teasing and a few insults including "jerk," plus sexist use of the term "ladies" when addressing the all-male hockey team. Themes throughout include the value of friendship and the importance of being yourself, while several characters display positive traits such as enthusiasm, self-confidence, and empathy. While there's nothing inappropriate for younger kids, the content and storyline will probably most appeal to tweens. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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What's the Story?

GENIUS tells the story of 14-year-old Charlie Boyle ( Trevor Morgan ), hockey lover and expert in particle physics, who has always struggled to fit in. A science prodigy, he gets a place at college and is tasked with helping a professor with his research into defying gravity. It's a dream come true, but it doesn't make his social life any easier. When he meets schoolgirl Claire ( Emmy Rossum ) at the ice rink, he creates an alter ego -- the much cooler and socially competent Chaz -- and enrolls at Junior High in an effort to get closer to her. Now he needs to use his quick wits and intelligence to juggle two lives -- with mixed results.

Is It Any Good?

A standard Disney offering from the 1990s' TV movie stable, this is nonetheless a charming coming-of-age story with a lighthearted tone. Genius somehow gets away with combining science and sport, making particle physics experiments seem just as exciting as fast-paced ice hockey sequences.

Morgan and Rossum -- both just 13 when this was made -- have a natural flair and snappy chemistry. And while Morgan's alter ego character Chaz will have you cringing throughout, he'll no doubt also elicit a few laughs. There are numerous implausible plotlines -- not least that an eccentric pair of scientists holed up under an ice rink might uncover the secret to defying gravity -- but at its heart this is a story about growing up, first love, and being true to yourself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the positive messages in Genius . Where do we see the value of friendship, the importance of being yourself, or what it means to be inclusive? Why are these important things to consider in our own lives?

Talk about the concept of being "cool." Why might it affect someone's popularity, confidence, or self-esteem? What do you think makes someone cool?

Do you think Charlie is a good role model? He's hardworking, passionate, and warmhearted but his actions are deceitful. Do his positive traits outweigh the negative? Why media role models matter.

Talk about the lack of diversity . Would you have liked to see more diverse characters? Would that have improved the story? Why is representation important in movies?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : August 21, 1999
• Cast : Trevor Morgan , Emmy Rossum , Charles Fleischer
• Director : Rod Daniel
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Disney Channel Original Movies
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : STEM , Sports and Martial Arts , Great Boy Role Models , Middle School
• Character Strengths : Empathy , Integrity , Teamwork
• Run time : 85 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Review: ‘Genius,’ a Portrait of the Man Behind the Equation

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By Neil Genzlinger

• April 23, 2017

National Geographic, a network hoping to fashion itself a new image , has invested quite a lot in “Genius,” its first scripted series, which begins on Tuesday night. The commitment has paid off admirably.

Judging from the first two episodes, this is a skillfully acted, richly detailed historical show that would not be out of place on PBS or a high-end pay-cable outlet. It’s a dramatization of the life of Albert Einstein , who was not the wild-haired caricature that you may have thought, at least not when he was young.

“Genius” intends to be an anthology series about the lives of historical figures who fit the title, and Einstein is a natural choice to kick it off. (A second season was announced last week but not which “genius” will be the subject; the network says that will be revealed during the Season 1 finale.) Not only did he revolutionize physics, but he also lived during calamitous times, including two world wars, and had an eventful personal life.

The 10-episode first season, based on Walter Isaacson’s book “Einstein: His Life and Universe” (2007), weaves those threads together to create a portrait of the very human fellow behind the immortal equation. The premiere opens in Berlin in 1922, when Einstein (1879-1955) was in his 40s and a renowned figure in physics, but it soon flashes back to the 1890s, when Einstein was a student with a restless mind and a knack for irritating his instructors.

The show repeatedly jumps from the older Einstein to the younger, and from one actor to another. The producers made their serious intentions clear with the casting of the older Einstein: It’s Geoffrey Rush , an Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner. But “Genius” has a certain brashness to it as well, and the choice for the younger Einstein embodies it: Johnny Flynn, who was perhaps best known for the cheeky British series “Scrotal Recall” (later retitled “Lovesick”).

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Sometimes it is good to blink

Inventor Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear) pleads his case in court in “Flash of Genius,” based on a true story.

Why do corporations tend to be greedy? I suspect it’s because their executives are paid millions and millions to maximize profits, minimize salaries and slash benefits that cut into the bottom line. Sometimes this can be taken to comic-opera extremes, as when the (now) convicted thief David Radler was stealing millions from the Sun-Times and actually turned off the escalators to save on electricity. I guess that helps explain why the Ford Motor Co., followed by Chrysler, stole the secret of the intermittent windshield wiper from a little guy named Robert Kearns.

Why bother? Why not just pay the guy royalties? Simple: Because Ford thought it could get away with it. He was only a college professor. They had teams of high-priced lawyers with infinite patience. They risked having the legal fees cost them more than the patent rights, but what the hell. You can’t go around encouraging these pipsqueaks.

I know that I sound just like a liberal, but at this point in history I am sick and tired of giant corporations running roughshod over decent people — cutting their wages, polluting their work environment, denying them health care, forcing them to work unpaid overtime, busting their unions and other crimes we have never heard George Bush denouncing while he was cutting corporate taxes. I am sure lower taxes help corporations to function more profitably. Why is that considered progress, when many workers live in borderline poverty and executives have pissing contests over who has the biggest stock options?

But enough. I have “Flash of Genius” to review. Yes, I am agitated. I am writing during days of economic meltdown, after Wall Street raped Main Street while the Bush ideology held it down. Believe me, I could go on like this all day. But consider the case of Robert Kearns, played here touchingly by Greg Kinnear . He was a professor of engineering, a decent, unremarkable family man, and had a eureka! moment: Why did windshield wipers only go on and off? Why couldn’t they reflect existing conditions, as the human eyelid does?

Working in his basement, Kearns put together the first intermittent wiper from off-the-shelf components and tested it in a fish tank. He patented it in 1967. He demonstrated it to Ford, but wouldn’t tell them how it worked until he had a deal. After Ford ripped it off and reneged on the deal, he sued in 1982. Thirteen years later, he won $30 million in a settlement where the automakers didn’t have to admit deliberate theft.

“Flash of Genius” tells this story in faithful and often moving detail. If it has a handicap, it’s that Kearns was not a colorful character, more of a very stubborn man with tunnel vision. He alienates his family, angers his business partner ( Dermot Mulroney ) and sorely tries the patience of his lawyer ( Alan Alda ), who he is not afraid to accuse of incompetence. Was his victory worth it? The movie asks us to decide. For Kearns, as depicted in this movie, it was. If he had not been obsessively obstinate, Ford would have been counting its stolen dollars.

The movie covers events taking place from 1953 to 1982. The wiper was hard to perfect. There are some gaps along the way, and we don’t get to know his wife ( Lauren Graham ) and his family very well, nor perhaps does he. He calls his kids his “board of directors,” but they mostly resign, only to return loyally in the end. Alda gives the film’s strongest performance. Kinnear, often a player of light comedy, does a convincing job of making this quiet, resolute man into a giant slayer.

Todd McCarthy of Variety notices an odd fact: Right to the end, Kearns always drove Fords. He remained loyal. I remember those days. You were a Ford, a Dodge, a Cadillac or a Studebaker family, and that’s what you remained. It was nice when sensible wipers were added to the package. Thanks, professor.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Lauren Graham as Phyllis
• Bill Smitrovich as Judge Franks
• Jake Abel as Dennis
• Dermot Mulroney as Gil
• Alan Alda as Gregory
• Greg Kinnear as Robert

Directed by

• Marc Abraham
• Philip Railsback

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Movie Review: Sinister and unhinged, James McAvoy is the weekend host from hell in ‘Speak No Evil’

The Associated Press

September 11, 2024, 12:16 PM

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Quick. Has there ever been a horror film set in a country home with a decent cell signal?

Nope, and there’s no signal at Paddy and Ciara’s house, either, deep in the English countryside. Soon, that land line will be cut, too, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Paddy and Ciara are that fun-but-somewhat-odd British couple whom Louise and Ben, early in “Speak No Evil,” meet on their idyllic Tuscan family holiday. Americans based in London, Louise and Ben are at loose ends, with both job and relationship issues. And so, when the new acquaintances write to invite them for a country weekend, they decide to go.

After all, how bad could it be?

Don’t answer that. There are many such moments in the first two-thirds of “Speak No Evil,” a Hollywood remake of the 2022 Danish film , here starring a deeply menacing James McAvoy. Moments where Louise and Ben, out of mere politeness and social convention, act against their instincts, which tell them something is wrong – very wrong.

Director James Watkins and especially his excellent troupe of actors, adult and children alike, do a nice job of building the tension, slowly but surely. Until all bloody hell breaks loose, of course. And then, in its third act, “Speak No Evil” becomes an entertaining but routine horror flick, with predictable results.

But for a while, it’s a way more intelligent film. And the jumpy moments work — I’ll confess to literally springing out of my seat when someone uneventfully turned on a power drill.

We begin in stunning Tuscany, where Louise (Mackenzie Davis, in the film’s most accessible and empathetic performance) and Ben (Scoot McNairy, all nerves and insecurity) are vacationing with 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). At the pool, they meet Paddy (McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), a British couple with a disabled son, Ant, apparently born without a proper tongue.

One day in town, Paddy offers Agnes a ride on his Vespa. Louise is frightened to see her daughter disappear on the motorbike with a strange man, but it would be churlish to say no, right?

In briefly sketched backstories, we learn that Louise and Ben moved to London for Ben’s job, but he was soon downsized out. As for Paddy, all we know is he’s a doctor.

At least, we think he is. The Americans, accepting the weekend invitation back in England, arrive at the secluded country home in dead of night. Immediately something feels off. The rooms are quirky but musty, the sheets stained. How can a doctor live like this, Louise asks? Ben brushes off her concern, quipping that even Downton Abbey is in terrible shape.

When the couple cooks dinner, Paddy proudly explains they’ve butchered their prize goose in their guests’ honor. He proffers Louise a forkful — even though he well knows she’s a vegetarian. Louise is disgusted but, politely, takes a bite.

Daughter Agnes, too, is freaked out. She’s being made to sleep on the floor next to Ant (Dan Hough, poignant in a role with no words.) And the next evening, when everyone dresses for a special dinner out, Paddy and Ciara inform Louise and Ben that the kids will stay home with a strange male babysitter. “We’ve had mannies before,” Ben tells Louise, unconvincingly.

Soon, though, we have the obligatory attempt to flee, followed by the “Oh no, we have to go back” moment — you know, where you’re yelling: “No!” But return the family does.

In perhaps the movie’s most effective scene, the two kids have put together a dance routine. The parents sit back proudly to watch, but repeatedly, Paddy stops the routine to admonish, brutally, his son, telling him he’s out of rhythm. McAvoy, a terrific actor who has made villainy part of his potent toolbox, is truly chilling as he becomes unhinged by his son’s inability to keep time.

Then there’s the scene fans of “The Shining” will recognize as the “Here’s Johnny,” Jack Nicholson moment. By then, everything’s gone off the rails, and it’s time for the blood to flow, predictably.

If there’s a moral here, it’s to trust those instincts when things feel wrong. But if movie characters did that, the horror genre would not exist.

Still, there’s some satisfaction to be had, especially in the creative use of household implements to inflict pain and death. Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold — except in horror films, where it is served raw and bloody, with a side of toxic cleaning fluid.

“Speak No Evil,” a Universal Pictures and Blumhouse release, has been Rated R by the Motion Picture Association “for some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use. “ Running time: 110 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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YOUNHA - 라이프리뷰 (Life review) (English Translation)

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YOUNHA - 라이프리뷰 (Life review) (English Translation) Lyrics

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Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

• 1. YOUNHA - 맹그로브 (Mangrove tree) (English Translation)
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• 3. YOUNHA - 케이프 혼 (Attention!) (English Translation)
• 4. YOUNHA - 은화 (Silvering) (English Translation)
• 5. YOUNHA - 로켓방정식의 저주 (Curse for the rocket formula) (English Translation)
• 6. YOUNHA - 태양물고기 (Sunfish) (English Translation)
• 7. YOUNHA - 코리올리 힘 (Coriolis force) (English Translation)
• 8. YOUNHA - 라이프리뷰 (Life review) (English Translation)
• 9. YOUNHA - 구름의 그림자 (Part of cloud) (English Translation)
• 10. YOUNHA - 새녘바람 (East wind) (English Translation)

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