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Evaluation Essay

Movie Review

Everybody goes to the movie, it seems, to be entertained, but how many go to

study movies as works of art. That is what movie reviewing involves: seeing a film

as more than an adventure or escape vehicle. It is, in many ways, seeing it as a

book, or a painting, or a piece of sculpture – in other words, as a work of art.

Actually, movies mirror life. Like books, they focus on people and the problems of

life. The major difference is that in the movies, life unfolds on a screen. It is a

reality, nevertheless. Look for the following in a movie:

1. Theme

6. Acting

2. Artistic Focus

7. Dialogue

3. Realism or fantasy

8. Film technique

4. Conflict

9. Scenery

5. Characterization

10. Musical background

The problem with reviewing a movie is that you are seated in the dark and thus

cannot take notes. Therefore, you have to rely on memory, but if you train your

eye to see more than the story, you can retain a lot of information that would be

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useful in composing a review. For example, consider the movie

, starring

Woody Allen. It is a bold film that tries to capture those frightful days of the

early 1950s when so many artists were blacklisted because they were accused of

being Communists. Because they refused to testify, or avoided the questions of

the House Un-American Activities Committee, they lost their jobs and were never

employed again.

Or, you can deal with the character Woody Allen plays, a front man for blacklisted

writers who collects fees for their scripts. In the process of deceiving others, he

gets caught up in the personal greed and public conscience. Allen, a comic actor of

great talent, plays this part somewhat seriously and thus makes us believe that

there are people who, when others are down, will take advantage to gain something

for themselves.

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Thus we have identified two key elements worth reviewing in

– theme

and characterization.

Evaluation Essay