The 10 Greatest Films About Writers/Writing

While one’s position as part of the process is often romanticized all out of proportion, it’s the rare medium that can exist wholly without the input of the writer. From lyrics to dialogue, character cues to stage direction, the man or woman of letters plays an integral role in the realization of almost every artistic dreamscape. And yet, for some odd reason, they are consistently marginalized, made to seem irrelevant to a process that basically cannot thrive without them. Perhaps that’s why films featuring writers and writing have become benchmarks in the war on words. Without their constant cerebral reminder of what life is like for those ensconced in scribbling, the poor author would be far worse off. Heck, even real-life examples of the skill frequently suffer in the comparison.

A good example is the upcoming serial killer thriller, The Raven. Supposedly centering on the troubled last days of Edgar Allan Poe and a murder’s fascination with his works of macabre fiction, the end result is more bluster than believability. Even worse, the famed frights created by the man from Baltimore are little more than gimmicks in a Se7en-styled stunt. Poe’s problematic interpretation did get us thinking about his fellow cinematic scribes, leading to this list, the 10 Greatest Films About Writers and Writing Ever. Sure, we left out a few that may or may not actually apply (is Sunset Blvd. really about putting pen to paper?) and the ancillary nature of some situations kept us from including other heralded works. In the final analysis, however, these ten terrific titles help explain the films’ fascination with their own makers, beginning with:

10. Martin Ritt’s The Front (1976)

In one of his rare actor-only appearances, Woody Allen plays a talentless schlub who becomes the celebrated stand-in for a bunch of blacklisted writers. Reluctant at first, he soon becomes a studio favorite. With success comes ego and defiance that helps set up the film’s main message, to wit: groupthink and witch-hunting only lead to tragic, tear-filled ends. Perhaps best remembered for Zero Mostel’s moving portrayal of an exiled funnyman desperate for redemption, (the actor himself had been banned during the McCarthy era) the film is one big middle finger to the crazed Conservatism of the ’50s and its painful professional fallout.

9. Stephen Frear’s Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

During his heyday, playwright Joe Orton was handpicked by the Beatles’ camp to create their next collection of big-screen hijinx. One look at the homoerotic romp and the scribe was stuck with an unproduced project. It didn’t matter, really. After a youth filled with promise, promiscuity, and a couple of criminal prosecutions, Orton became the voice of new British theater, creating cheeky classics like Loot and What the Butler Saw. Sadly, he died at the hand of a jealous male lover, forever sealing his manic melancholy fate. As portrayed by Gary Oldman in this excellent career overview, Orton remains forever rebellious and relevant.

8. Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot (1989)

Daniel Day-Lewis stunned ill-prepared audiences with his devastating portrayal of handicapped Irish poet Christy Brown. Using only the title appendage, this brave victim of cerebral palsy would not let life drag him down. Instead, he battled his own internal demons before discovering his own sense of independence and self. Uplifting and heartbreaking, it represents the ultimate expression of overcoming adversity in light of limited options or opportunities. With Day-Lewis anchoring the insights, and director Jim Sheridan setting the stage, the end result becomes a primer on pursuing one’s dreams no matter the limits, legitimate or otherwise.

7. Gavin Millar’s Dreamchild (1985)

Alice in Wonderland is a classic of fantastical fiction. Its creation offers up an equally compelling tale. While many believe the complex fairytale of logic to be nothing more than a closeted pedophile’s (the Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll) love letter to a neighbor girl he could never have (the real-life Alice Pleasance Liddell), the truth is far murkier. Perhaps that’s why noted British writer Dennis Potter (The Singing Detective) decided to explore a psychologically dense dissertation on its creation. With the help of some horrific puppets via Jim Henson’s studios, the unsettling nature of Wonderland becomes the film’s main metaphor.

6. Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002)

Only crazy screenwriting genius Charlie Kaufman could turn an actual assignment (trying to adapt Susan Orlean’s non-fiction book The Orchid Thief for the big screen) into a mind-blowing manifesto on the pains of personal expression. Suffering from writer’s block and unable to figure out what Thief is/was supposed to mean, Kaufman’s fictional alter ego (a brilliant Nicolas Cage) comes down with a bad case of depression, as well as a visit from his nogoodnik brother Donald (Cage as well). It’s not long before everything turns into a mesmerizing Mobius strip of references and re-imaginings. Often indecipherable but always imagination.

5. David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch (1991)

How do you make a film from a book that everyone considers unfilmable? Well, if you’re David Cronenberg, you toss out the rules and reinterpret William Burroughs’ surrealistic epic as a combination biography and commentary on the controversial novel itself. With a brilliant turn by Peter Weller as our author surrogate and the kind of complicated bio-horror that the director excels at, the end result is like someone struggling with heroin, hurt, and their own hidden homosexuality. By the end, even the animated roach typewriter with the talking anus and smoke graveled voice start to make sense… somewhat.

4. Jane Campion’s An Angel At My Table (1990)

Few outside her native New Zealand had heard of Janet Frame when director Jane Campion decided to turn her tumultuous life into a TV miniseries. Eventually released around the world as a single three-part film, the novelist was portrayed as the victim of unthinkable personal tragedies. A misunderstood childhood, complete with the accidental death of two of her sisters, plus later years marred by psychiatric and personality issues rendered her career incomplete. Still, in Campion’s calm hands, we can see the start of something amazing. By the time Frame has grown and found some fame, we relish the relief.

3. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s American Splendor (2003)

Sure, he seemed like nothing more than an ungrateful curmudgeon arguing with a determined David Letterman over the typical pet peeves and problems in his life, but the late Harvey Pekar was much more than a poster boy for being pissed off. Without him, independent comics and the world of outsider narrative probably wouldn’t have existed. Instead of superheroes and fantasy, Pekar placed his own sad life front and center, turning his everyday travails into the stuff of myth. The American Splendor does an amazing job of balancing fame with fact, offering multiple interpretations of who this character was, including segments with Harvey himself.

2. Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Few have found a way to tap directly into the late Hunter S. Thompson’s terrifying Id like director Terry Gilliam. After taking over for a fired Alex Cox, he refashioned the sketchy script as a paean to the foundation of gonzo journalism. By keeping the archaic author’s own words, and backing them up with fading ’60s nostalgia, he crafted a misunderstood masterwork that flopped upon initial release, but that’s worshipped today. Of course, it helps to have the perfect actor in the leading role, and Johnny Depp gives the performance of a lifetime. Not only is he Thompson, he’s also everything we believe Thompson to be.

1. The Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink (1991)

When haunted homunculus Charlie Meadows screams “I’ll show you the life of the mind” to the frazzled title character, little did viewers know he was standing in for the blocked and baffled Coen Brothers. Stuck on how to wrap up their gangster masterpiece Miller’s Crossing, the duo delved deep into the world of writing and came up with this amazing deconstruction of inspiration, intention, and industry in-jokes. Part exercise in existential ego, part comic criticism of the populist grind of Golden Age Hollywood, this is a densley packed pearl that only reveals its many luscious layers upon multiple viewings and lots of free association.