Phillip Chain
“”Do you want a roommate?” she asks shyly, almost whispering.
“Absolutely,” says Rocky.
Which is exactly what he should say, and how he should say it, and why ‘Rocky’ is such an immensely involving movie.” – Roger Ebert, from his review of ‘Rocky’
I didn’t always agree with Roger Ebert’s reviews. I often thought that he was wrong. In fact, some of his most entertaining writing was about films he absolutely hated. Those reviews could make me laugh and shake my head in equal measures.
Then there are the movies he loved. Ebert’s eloquence and description was almost wistful. Even if you didn’t agree – you understood. You understood why he liked it, you understood how it succeeded and you understood why it matters.
He won a Pulitzer Prize for reviewing movies but that’s not why I will remember him. Ebert’s greatest skill, and this is what inspired me as both a film buff and a writer, was knowing exactly what moment mattered. No matter the movie, Ebert could always find one scene or one exchange of dialogue that would encompass what a movie is and how effective it is.
The scene quoted above from ‘Rocky’ is a perfect example. It was a simple scene that’s easy to over look but Ebert saw the beauty of it and saw how it says everything that needs to be said about these two characters. Or take his review of ‘Grand Canyon’, a fairly forgettable 1992 movie with Kevin Kline and Danny Glover. It is an exchange of dialogue near the beginning about race and violence. It is not intricately relevant to the plot but Ebert recognized how vital it is. He recognized how much it said about the themes of the movie.
I could cite a hundred examples of Ebert knowing exactly what matters in a film and not even scratch the surface. In the grand scheme of things though, that is irrelevant. It is relevant to me because it inspired me but in the bigger picture, it pails in comparison to how Ebert knew exactly what matters in life.
I recently read an essay Ebert wrote in 2011. It is about death and how he knew it was coming. It is a beautiful piece of writing and, despite the solemn subject matter, it reassures the reader about life and about death. It reassures the reader how one day we will be gone and at peace. How we treated the world and what we left behind is what will persevere.
Seeing all the tributes that have poured in from people that knew him. You hear all the same things – how nice he was, his cunning sense of humor, his strength in his battles with his health. True sentiment but it’s a common one for people who die. I could see Ebert having a laugh or writing a funny quip about all the tributes. Soon enough, the sentiment will fade away and the tributes will pour out for the next notable death.
Long after everything has been said and everyone moves on, the words will still be there. Everything he knew about what matters in life will still be there. The legacy that he left behind will persevere. In the end, it’s exactly like he wrote about that scene in ‘Rocky’:
Roger Ebert knew exactly what needed to be said and how to say it – and the world of entertainment is an immensely better place for it.
Photo credit: Bradley Leese
