Salinger offers insight but no answers

By Madeleine Tibaldi     9/23/13 7:00pm

J.D. Salinger is famous for writing arguably the most influential, contentious and critically appraised book of the 20th century, The Catcher in the Rye. While readers of this timeless classic are made to feel they know Holden like a best friend, the author devoted considerable effort to keeping his life as private and isolated as possible, even ending publishing after selling over 65 million copies of his famed book.

Salinger, the new biopic released nationwide Sept. 20, attempts to uncover one of the greatest mysteries in American literary history by addressing the questions on many people's minds: Who was this man who gave birth to one of the most iconic literary characters in history? Why was he so private? Why did he abruptly stop publishing after such strong sales?

Salinger provides a thorough description of Salinger's upbringing and early life, attempting to deduce from his personal life the struggles which shaped his characters. The film focuses on some of the highly concealed aspects of Salinger's private life, including his fascination and obsession with underage women, his struggles with fatherhood and his attempt to escape from post-traumatic stress disorder following his experiences in World War II. 

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The documentary, directed by Shane Salerno (Armageddon), uses a series of interviews, photographs and dramatic re-enactments to peel back each layer of Salinger's mysterious persona. The difficulty in achieving this task lies in the lack of evidence available to expose this great mystery of the literary world. 

Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is that it depicts Salinger only through the extremely minimal collection of photographs that have been made available to the public. The film relies largely on secondhand accounts and the scarce amount of personal information available to paint a multifaceted and vivacious picture of the man so many fans have yearned to know. Yet it is this lack of clear firsthand detail that validates Salinger's odd privacy; it helps viewers understand the extent of Salinger's reclusiveness and the struggles the filmmakers faced in uncovering any information about the elusive author.

It is unfortunate that melodramatic music, punchy subtitles and character re-enactments are dispersed throughout the footage, helping to maintain the audience's attention but ultimately cheapening the quality of this otherwise tasteful documentary. These sensationalized aspects cause the film to seem more like a 20/20 news segment than a high-quality investigative documentary. In directing a highly dramatic and overly hyped portrayal of Salinger's life, Salerno has created a product Salinger himself would probably loathe were he alive to see it.

It is likely for that very reason that the documentary was not released until after Salinger's death on Jan. 27, 2010. According to Deadline.com, which broke the news of the film's existence two days after the author's death, Salerno began conducting extensive research and interviews in secret in 2005 while self-financing the documentary. The film remained shelved for three additional years until The Weinstein Company acquired the rights Feb. 27, 2013.

Despite its shortcomings, Salinger is a must-see for any fan of his work. Perhaps the most important lesson gained from the film is that Salinger himself did not have the answers to all the deep questions he posed in his books. Salinger teaches us that this world-famous author was in fact a deeply troubled man who found refuge from his demons by creating his own reality through his beloved characters. Salinger wrote for sheer pleasure, keeping dozens of completed manuscripts under lock and key. 

According to Salerno, some of Salinger's manuscripts will begin to be published in irregular installments in 2015. After 50 years, readers will once again be faced with the existential questions posed by Salinger's work, but this time, they will be on their own to answer them. 

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