How to write a Film Review

How to write a Film Review

A review is a critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. Reviews can consider books, articles, films, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture, art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, and many other forms.

Above all, a review makes an argument. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. It allows you to enter into dialogue and discussion with the work's creator and with other audiences. You can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization. You should clearly state your opinion of the work in question, and that statement will probably resemble other types of academic writing, with a thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Typically, reviews are brief. In newspapers and academic journals, they rarely exceed 1000 words, although you may encounter lengthier assignments and extended commentaries. In either case, reviews need to be succinct. While they vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features:

·         First, a review gives the reader a concise summary of the content. This includes a relevant description of the topic as well as its overall perspective, argument, or purpose.

·         Second, and more importantly, a review offers a critical assessment of the content. This involves your reactions to the work under review: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective or persuasive, and how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand.

·         Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests whether or not the audience would appreciate it.

Becoming an expert reviewer

Reviewing can be a daunting task. Someone has asked for your opinion about something that you may feel unqualified to evaluate. Who are you to criticize Toni Morrison's new book if you've never written a novel yourself, much less won a Nobel Prize? The point is that someone—a professor, a journal editor, peers in a study group—wants to know what you think about a particular work. You may not be (or feel like) an expert, but you need to pretend to be one for your particular audience. Nobody expects you to be the intellectual equal of the work's creator, but your careful observations can provide you with the raw material to make reasoned judgments. Tactfully voicing agreement and disagreement, praise and criticism, is a valuable, challenging skill, and like many forms of writing, reviews require you to provide concrete evidence for your assertions.

Developing an assessment: before you write

There is no definitive method to writing a review, although some critical thinking about the work at hand is necessary before you actually begin writing. Thus, writing a review is a two-step process: developing an argument about the work under consideration, and making that argument as you write an organized and well-supported draft.

What follows is a series of questions to focus your thinking as you dig into the work at hand. While the questions specifically consider book reviews, you can easily transpose them to an analysis of performances, exhibitions, and other review subjects. Don't feel obligated to address each of the questions; some will be more relevant than others to the film in question.

·         What is the thesis—or main argument—of the film? If the author wanted you to get one idea from the film, what would it be? How does it compare or contrast to the world you know? What has the film accomplished?

·         What exactly is the subject or topic of the film? Does the author cover the subject adequately? Does the author cover all aspects of the subject in a balanced fashion? What is the approach to the subject (topical, analytical, chronological, descriptive)?

·         How does the author support her argument? What evidence does she use to prove her point? Do you find that evidence convincing? Why or why not? Does any of the author's information (or conclusions) conflict with other books/films you've read, courses you've taken or just previous assumptions you had of the subject?

·         How does the author structure her argument? What are the parts that make up the whole? Does the argument make sense? Does it persuade you? Why or why not?

·         How has this film helped you understand the subject? Would you recommend the film to your friends?

Beyond the internal workings of the film, you may also consider some information about the author and the circumstances of the film's production:

·         Who is the director? Nationality, political persuasion, training, intellectual interests, personal history, and historical context may provide crucial details about how a work takes shape.

·         What is the film's genre? Out of what field does it emerge? Does it conform to or depart from the conventions of its genre? These questions can provide a historical or literary standard on which to base your evaluations. If you are reviewing the first film/book ever made/written on the subject, it will be important for your audience to know. Keep in mind, though, that naming "firsts"—alongside naming "bests" and "onlys"—can be a risky business unless you're absolutely certain.

Writing the review

Once you have made your observations and assessments of the work under review, carefully survey your notes and attempt to unify your impressions into a statement that will describe the purpose or thesis of your review. Then, outline the arguments that support your thesis.

Your arguments should develop the thesis in a logical manner. That logic, unlike more standard academic writing, may initially emphasize the author's argument while you develop your own in the course of the review. The relative emphasis depends on the nature of the review: if readers may be more interested in the work itself, you may want to make the work and the author more prominent; if you want the review to be about your perspective and opinions, then you may structure the review to privilege your observations over (but never separate from) those of the work under review. What follows is just one of many ways to organize a review.

Introduction

Since most reviews are brief, many writers begin with a catchy quip or anecdote that succinctly delivers their argument. But you can introduce your review differently depending on the argument and audience. In general, you should include:

·         The name of the director and the film title and the main theme.

·         Relevant details about who the director is and where he/she stands in the genre or field of inquiry. You could also link the title to the subject to show how the title explains the subject matter.

·         The context of the film and/or your review. Placing your review in a framework that makes sense to your audience alerts readers to your "take" on the film. Perhaps you want to situate a film about the Cuban revolution in the context of Cold War rivalries between the United States and the Soviet Union. Another reviewer might want to consider the film in the framework of Latin American social movements. Your choice of context informs your argument.

·         The thesis of the film. If you are reviewing fiction, this may be difficult since novels, plays, and short stories rarely have explicit arguments. But identifying the film’s particular novelty, angle, or originality allows you to show what specific contribution the piece is trying to make.

·         Your thesis about the film.

Summary of content

·         This should be brief, as analysis takes priority. In the course of making your assessment, you'll hopefully be backing up your assertions with concrete evidence from the film, so some summary will be dispersed throughout other parts of the review.

·         The necessary amount of summary also depends on your audience. Graduate students, beware! If you are writing book reviews for colleagues—to prepare for comprehensive exams, for example—you may want to devote more attention to summarizing the book's contents. If, on the other hand, your audience has already read the book—such as an class assignment on the same work—you may have more liberty to explore more subtle points and to emphasize your own argument.

Analysis and evaluation of the Film

·         Your analysis and evaluation should be organized into paragraphs that deal with single aspects of your argument. This arrangement can be challenging when your purpose is to consider the film as a whole, but it can help you differentiate elements of your criticism and pair assertions with evidence more clearly.

·         You do not necessarily need to work chronologically through the film as you discuss it. Given the argument you want to make, you can organize your paragraphs more usefully by themes, methods, or other elements of the film.

·         If you find it useful to include comparisons to other films, keep them brief so that the film under review remains in the spotlight.

·         Avoid excessive quotation and give a specific page reference in parentheses when you do quote. Remember that you can state many of the author's points in your own words.

Conclusion

·         Sum up or restate your thesis or make the final judgment regarding the film. You should not introduce new evidence for your argument in the conclusion. You can, however, introduce new ideas that go beyond the film if they extend the logic of your own thesis.

·         This paragraph needs to balance the film's strengths and weaknesses in order to unify your evaluation. Did the body of your review have three negative paragraphs and one favorable one? What do they all add up to?

Finally, a few general considerations:

·         Review the film in front of you, not the film you wish the director had made. You can and should point out shortcomings or failures, but don't criticize the film for not being something it was never intended to be.

·         With any luck, the director of the film worked hard to find the right things to express her ideas. You should attempt to do the same. Precise language allows you to control the tone of your review.

·         Never hesitate to challenge an assumption, approach, or argument. Be sure, however, to cite specific examples to back up your assertions carefully.

·         Try to present a balanced argument about the value of the film for its audience. You're entitled—and sometimes obligated—to voice strong agreement or disagreement. But keep in mind that a bad film takes as long to make as a good one, and every director deserves fair treatment. Harsh judgments are difficult to prove and can give readers the sense that you were unfair in your assessment.

FILM ANALYSIS RUBRIC