Joe Morgenstern's Review of 'Greenberg'

The difficulty of describing something that has dark subject matter or isolationist ties within a structure, say a film like 'Greenberg' is a challenge. Joe Morgenstern's review that dark comedic film is exemplary in describing the context of its characters and the struggles the main cast have:

"Greenberg scintillates with intelligence, razor's-edge humor and austere empathy for its struggling lovers."

Three adjectives that describe the film in one sentence is done well and there isn't any more clunky or awkwardness than you'd expect.

Morgenstern knows the director and the subject material well. Citing examples of past works by the director, which is something not many writers, at least good writers do. They take the time to get background information, some knowledge on the creativity of the director (Baumbach).

"This is a new departure for Mr. Baumbach, even though he might seem to be working the same territory of neurotic dysfunction and mutual need that he explored, sometimes relentlessly, in "The Squid and the Whale" and "Margot at the Wedding."

Morgenstern uses his previous generalities and delves into the details within his review, its something that should be followed and its easy to digest. Nothing seems out of place on this review and it flows easily. Its a good manuscript to follow if you're critiquing something and I probably will use it in future reviews.

"Greenberg" is a love story, yes, but it's also a tale of two people adrift in separate currents, constantly sinking and bobbing to the surface like synchro swimmers out of sync.

Morgenstern is no amateur in reviewing movies. He's been a top critic for quite some time and has reviewed film for the Wall Street Journal since 1995. His career as a journalist was doing reporting for the New York Times in the 1950's until he migrated towards film and theater in 1959. He started his movie reviews in Newsweek, working for the paper from 1965 to 1983, later moving to to the Los Angeles Herald Examiner until 1988. His critiques have earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for "Movie Criticism". More importantly his writing style is known for his extensive vocabulary and humor, something that is difficult to pull-off in any writing profession.

2005: Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal, "for his reviews that elucidated the strengths and weaknesses of film with rare insight, authority and wit."

Morgenstern's Rotten Tomatoes Profile
Wall Street Journal /Film Review ("Joe Morgenstern is the film critic of WSJ")