I don't know if I will be able to write this review while staying dry eyed the entire time. Roger Ebert is the man that I have looked up to my entire life and will continue to look up to until the day I die. That is why I am extremely happy to report how fantastic and sad the documentary about this legendary critic titled Life Itself (also the title of Ebert's memoir) is. The film is directed by Steve James, who may not have had much of a career if it weren't for Ebert's constant raving about his superb 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Needless to say the love that James will always have for this man is felt by the audience. However, the fact that James isn't afraid to dive into the tough aspects of Ebert's life is what makes this documentary so magical.
The film follows Ebert's entire life, a lot of which are in Ebert's own words and shown through the text of his memoir. This tracks Ebert all the way back to his childhood and early family life to his alcoholism early in his career to becoming that film critic that all other film critics (such as myself) idolize to his long battle with cancer and his unfortunate and sad death in April 2013. What James does so magnificently with this film is that he lets himself be a part of the film without ever intruding. James makes sure he covers all the stuff in which it is imperative to cover but he follows every one of Ebert's request with a respectful agreeableness. This also helps because Ebert approaches this documentary with such humor and passion, even when being filmed on his final days, that it becomes extremely heartwarming to watch a man who cared so much about living every second with enjoyment and energy.
James also does a fantastic job of giving the audience insight into facts about Ebert that many other directors would have shied away from. In this, he proves to be a filmmaker who's not just out to cover the most basic elements of an extraordinary man's life but to show why he was so extraordinary. He explores such things as how Ebert had a long battle with alcohol and personal demons early in his career and got past them with great skill. James also talks about how Ebert's wife, Chaz loved Roger not because of how great looking or cool he was but because of how much he didn't care what anyone else thought as long as he continued to like himself.
The most saddening scenes hands down are of those between Roger and Chaz. These scenes hold an especially large emotional factor because they showed that Chaz obviously loved Roger with all of her heart and yet sometimes had trouble doing what was best for him. Especially late in his battle with cancer, Roger wanted to do things his way and this made it much harder for Chaz to explain to him that it would be better to do things another way.
James also employs a brilliant technique where he does Roger's life mostly in order but keeps going back to Roger after his jaw had to be removed. This makes the film significantly more sad because it adds that extra layer when the entire audience realizes that things such as food via suction and not being able to speak were a day to day part of Roger's life for quite some time. This is made even more uplifting by the fact that Roger obviously enjoyed every second of life despite these obstacles. It also touchingly shows that he was able to make his voice even more powerful than before because he couldn't speak so his writing was the only way he had to express himself.
Life Itself is a truly beautiful, breathtaking and fascinating documentary that should appeal to everybody. No one has to be passionate about film or care about Roger Ebert to enjoy this documentary and find it extremely sad. I am, however, both passionate about film and someone who cared immensely about Ebert and have looked up to him for most of my life so that helped quite a bit. I will end this review by not only urging everyone to go see this documentary right away but also by confirming that I did cry while writing this entire review.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for brief sexual images/nudity and language)
**Note: The MPAA slaps this film with an R rating for a few F-Bombs and minimal, not at all graphic sexual images when talking about Ebert's work with the sexually charged filmmaker Russ Meyer. This makes me especially upset since this documentary will very easily inspire children, preteens and early teenagers to go out and pursue what they're passionate about when and if they get the chance to see it. Also, consider that extremely violent and/or terrifying films, even ones with heavy sexual themes throughout such as Robocop (2014), Transformers (2007) and The Quiet Ones (2014) get away with the PG-13 rating simply because they don't show blood with their extreme violence or gore and they're not "graphic enough" to get an R-rating. These action and horror films will also rot children, preteens and teenager's brains out while Life Itself, as previously mentioned, will inspire them to actually at least attempt to become successful. The MPAA needs to get their act together and take into account that it shouldn't just be what's being shown on screen but the effect that the films will have on young people. I truly hope this film will be shown at schools and other educational venues throughout the country to inspire young people to chase their dreams and make them realize that if they work hard enough, that dream's not too far away.
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