Review #40 - Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens (2008)

Per our friends at Netflix: "This documentary takes an in-depth look at the influential career of iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her earliest artistic efforts to her storied tenure at Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines and beyond. Intimately filmed by Annie's sister Barbara Leibovitz, the program features interviews with the artist as she works at home, along with telling insights from many of the celebrities she has photographed, such as Mick Jagger."

So, to say that RDJR "appeared" in this is, well, a stretch. Our hero was on screen for about 4 seconds, as a snippet from a photo shoot. He was not one of the aforementioned celebrities to provide a "telling insight." In fact, I considered not adding this one to the list of reviews. We certainly don't want to skew our results now, do we. There are a couple other RDJR "no-shows" that I watched and then left off; but, I figured, what the heck. Live on the edge. Dive into the pool of chaos and review it.

So, who is Annie Leibovitz, you ask? No, I've never heard her name before, but alas, I don't get out much. I did, however, recognize several of her photos. Remember the Rolling Stone cover of a naked John Lennon wrapped around Yoko Ono? How about the nude, uber-pregnant Demi Moore photo? Those are both Annie. Now, dearest reader, you are up to speed.

My love of the documentary is unabashed...I can trace it back to grade school. Yes, I loved it when the teacher got out the projector, because that meant we got to see A MOVIE during SCHOOL. It didn't matter to me that it wasn't, say, Benji or something like that. It was still A MOVIE. So, for me anyway, documentaries are like school movies for grown-ups, and I still get all excited.

I also get all excited, in a way I can't explain, when I see the sweet, clean engine compartment of a nice, shiny car. But that's a story for another time.

This film was...all right. It occurred to me that the facets I liked the most would probably be the ones that actual critics would trash. Annie's sexuality was not a focal point. Her relationship with Susan Sontag was certainly explored, but not in an exploitative way. Her children - mentioned; seen, but not heard. Critics who actually understand this industry would probably consider these as sins of superficiality. This film was all about Annie's work...and maybe that's what Annie is, did you ever think about that, Mr. Critic? Maybe the line between Annie the person and Annie the photographer is pretty smudgy, and when you get one, you get them both.

Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

If you are into art and enjoy looking at portraits, you'll probably like this one. If you are hoping for something to chew on, you probably won't. I say it's a 7.