Notes on a Critic

I am completely obsessed with critics’ notes. Maybe this is because of how important mine are to me. I tend to remember my general impressions of a movie fairly well, but I’m terrible remember the specifics—the exact order of certain scenes, the particulars of how a shot is set up, visual or auditory cues of particular note, and, most importantly, specific dialog. So my notes, which are about 50% transcriptions of dialog and 50% observations--my brain struggling to process the film in real time--are incredibly important. They're like an incredibly low-level recreation of, if not the film itself, my individual experience of it.

I know there are critics who don’t take notes and still manage to write convincing criticism. I’ve done it, and I used to do it regularly in college, but it’s a scary thing, and I tend toward broad generalizations for fear of getting specifics wrong. I’m too scattered, too busy, too mixed up in too many diverting projects and ancillary thoughts to mentally hold onto the information in a really comprehensive manner.

One of the things, though, that always interests me is when critics refer to their notes in their reviews or other writing. David Edelstein does this sometimes, and I seem to recall Dana Stevens doing it as well. It’s sort of a weird thing to do: Isn’t the job of the professional writer not just to transcribe those notes, but to take them and process them into something slick and professional? Except at the same time, it’s also interesting: It tells you not just about the movie, but about the critic, the person reviewing the film and how they think.

Anyway, it just strikes me that someone ought to do some sort of museum project on critics’ notes: a blown up collection of notes from noted critics or notes that led to famous reviews. Or, even better, some professional critic should scan their notes and publish them online alongside their reviews. How cool would that be?

Addendum: On the other hand, as Terry Teachout implies, notes are a symbol that something is being viewed for work, not just pleasure. Of course it's not quite that simple either. These days, when I go to movies just for fun, or when I watch DVDs at home that aren't related to anything I'm working on, it feels like something of a relief, and yet I also get the urge to start scribbling. How else will I remember? For a regular note-taker, seeing a movie without notes is to be reminded that casual viewing is both more relaxing, and even more involving--yet doesn't lend itself as easily to the thorough consideration that a note-taker might be used to.