Joe McElhaney,
Albert Maysles.
University of Illinois Press, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-252-07621
US$19.95 (pb)
206pp
(Review copy supplied by University of Illinois Press)
Joe McElhaney, associate professor of film and media studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York has written a detailed and insightful study of the work of the pioneering documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles. The volume includes analysis of all of the major Maysles documentary films as well as an interview with the director. McElhaney offers the reader in depth analysis of individual films as well as an assessment of Maysles’ career. The author draws connections between Maysles’ Jewish working class roots as well as his training in psychology and the subsequent development of the director’s unique film aesthetic.
Films such as Salesman (USA 1968), Gimme Shelter (USA 1970), and Grey Gardens (USA 1975), continue to stir controversy in regard to the ethics of documentary form. McElhaney presents Albert Maysles (and his brother David who worked with him) as a pioneer in the genre of the ‘non-fiction’ feature as well as an essential mover and shaker in the history of direct cinema. McElhaney proposes that Maysles’ documentary style was influenced by Truman Capote’s ‘non-fiction’ novel, In Cold Blood. He became inspired to use factual material as the building blocks for his documentary filmmaking and he hoped that it would be as riveting as a commercially directed Hollywood confection.
McElhaney contrasts Maysles’ collaborative and humanistic focus to the work of Frederick Wiseman. Unlike Wiseman, Maysles worked collaboratively and focused his camera on the human figure with empathy and compassion. Maysles presented his subjects with dignity and respect and he attempted to show them as having agency even in the worst possible conditions.
McElhaney’s interview with Maysles is quite engaging and offers a perspective on the director’s work past and present. Also, the book offers an excellent filmography and bibliography. On a personal note, I have been a devoted fan of Albert Maysles since I first saw Grey Gardens in 1976. Since then, I have studied the film, seen the Broadway show and watched the television adaptation with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. Big Edie and Little Edie are riveting figures for an entire generation of direct-cinema aficionados. Indeed, the Beales are such larger than life figures that it is hard to know what is fact and what is fiction when it involves the hyper-reality of their lives. Or, is it more accurate to say the hyper-reality of all our lives. Albert Maysles has been a genius in his ability to capture this elusive aesthetic within the context of his work. I highly recommend this study, especially for those who are fans of the Beales!
Irene Javors,
USA.
Created on: Tuesday, 1 December 2009