Anthony Lane
Encyclopedia
Anthony Lane is a film critic
for The New Yorker
magazine.
with Allison Pearson
, a British writer and former Daily Mail
columnist. They have a son, Thomas (born August 1999) and daughter (born January 1996), Eveline.
and graduated with a degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge
, where he also did graduate work on the poet T. S. Eliot
. After graduation, he worked as a freelance writer and book reviewer for The Independent
, where he was appointed deputy literary editor in 1989. In 1991, Lane was appointed film critic for the Independent on Sunday.
's then-editor, Tina Brown
, to join the magazine as a film critic. Lane now shares the role with David Denby
. He also contributes longer pieces on film subjects—such as Alfred Hitchcock
, Buster Keaton
, and Grace Kelly
—as well as other aspects of literature (Ian Fleming
an Patrick Leigh Fermor
) and the arts (Tintin
).
A collection of 140 of his The New Yorker reviews, essays, and profiles was published in 2002 under the title Nobody's Perfect—a nod to the final line of the film Some Like it Hot
. A profile of the film's director, Billy Wilder
, ends the book.
The explanation for the 5th maxim is a good example of Lane's style:
for Reviews & Criticism, for three of his articles:
Lane has also been nominated for National Magazine Awards on a number of other occasions, including
In 2008, Lane was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by More Intelligent Life, the web version of the lifestyle publication from The Economist
.
" and "High School Musical 3". Reviews "Slumdog Millionaire
" and "A Christmas Tale
". Reviews "Green Zone
" and "Mother
".
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine.
Personal life
Lane lives in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
with Allison Pearson
Allison Pearson
Allison Pearson is a Welsh author and newspaper columnist. Her novel I Don't Know How She Does It, published in 2002, has sold four million copies and has been made into a movie of the same name starring Sarah Jessica Parker...
, a British writer and former Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
columnist. They have a son, Thomas (born August 1999) and daughter (born January 1996), Eveline.
Education and early career
Lane attended Sherborne SchoolSherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
and graduated with a degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where he also did graduate work on the poet T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
. After graduation, he worked as a freelance writer and book reviewer for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, where he was appointed deputy literary editor in 1989. In 1991, Lane was appointed film critic for the Independent on Sunday.
At The New Yorker
In 1993, Lane was asked by The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
's then-editor, Tina Brown
Tina Brown
Tina Brown, Lady Evans, CBE , is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host and author of The Diana Chronicles, a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. Born a British citizen, she took United States citizenship in 2005 after emigrating in 1984 to edit Vanity Fair...
, to join the magazine as a film critic. Lane now shares the role with David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
. He also contributes longer pieces on film subjects—such as Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, and Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
—as well as other aspects of literature (Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
an Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
) and the arts (Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
).
A collection of 140 of his The New Yorker reviews, essays, and profiles was published in 2002 under the title Nobody's Perfect—a nod to the final line of the film Some Like it Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
. A profile of the film's director, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, ends the book.
Lane's maxims
In his introduction to Nobody's Perfect: Writings from The New Yorker, Lane mentions five maxims that should be obeyed by anyone who, having tried and failed to gain respectable employment, has decided to throw in the sponge and become a movie critic instead:- 1) Never read the publicity material.
- 2) Whenever possible, see a film in the company of ordinary human beings.
- 3) Try to keep up with documentaries about SwabiaSwabiaSwabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n transsexuals {or, see everything regardless of budget and hype}. - 4) Whenever possible, pass sentence on a movie the day after it comes out. Otherwise, wait fifty years.
- 5) Try to avoid the Lane technique of summer moviegoing.
The explanation for the 5th maxim is a good example of Lane's style:
- On a broiling day, I ran to a screening of ContactContact (film)Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
, the Jodie FosterJodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
flick about messages from another galaxy. I made it for the opening credits, and, panting heavily — which, with all due respect, is not something that I find myself doing that often in Jodie Foster films — I started taking notes. These went "v. gloomy," "odd noir look for sci-fi," "creepy shadows in outdoor scene," and so on. Only after three-quarters of an hour did I remember to remove my dark glasses.
Professional recognition
Anthony Lane was awarded the 2001 National Magazine AwardNational Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...
for Reviews & Criticism, for three of his articles:
- The Maria Problem (February 14), on The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
- The Eye of the Land (March 13), on the photographs of Walker EvansWalker EvansWalker Evans was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans's work from the FSA period uses the large-format, 8x10-inch camera...
- The Light Side of the Moon (April 10), on photographs from the Apollo program
Lane has also been nominated for National Magazine Awards on a number of other occasions, including
- 1996 award for Special Interest, for the article Look Back in Hunger (December 18), a humorous piece about cookbookCookbookA cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
s - 2000 award for Reviews & Criticism, for the articles
- The Man in the Mirror (August 9), on André GideAndré GideAndré Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
- In Love with Fear (August 16), on Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
- Waugh in Pieces (October 4), on Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
- The Man in the Mirror (August 9), on André Gide
In 2008, Lane was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by More Intelligent Life, the web version of the lifestyle publication from The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
.
Articles
Reviews "Synecdoche, New YorkSynecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was Kaufman's directorial debut.The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008...
" and "High School Musical 3". Reviews "Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
" and "A Christmas Tale
A Christmas Tale
A Christmas Tale is a 2008 French comedy-drama film by Arnaud Desplechin, starring Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara Mastroianni. It tells the story of a family with strained relationships which gathers at the...
". Reviews "Green Zone
Green Zone (film)
Green Zone is a 2010 American war thriller film written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film was inspired by the non-fiction 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran, which documented life in the Green Zone, Baghdad...
" and "Mother
Mother (2009 film)
Mother is a 2009 South Korean drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho, starring Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin.-Plot:Kim Hye-ja, a veteran Korean actress, plays an unnamed widow living alone with her only son, selling medicinal herbs in a small town in southern South Korea while doing unlicensed acupuncture...
".
External links
- Review of Anthony Lane's book Nobody's Perfect in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Interview of Anthony Lane by Robert Birnbaum (October 3, 2002)
- Sample of Lane's cinematic taste on Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.