Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

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Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

2017

1h 34m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

89%

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35 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Actor and director Griffin Dunne uses a treasure trove of archival footage to chronicle Joan Didion's influential career.

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Critics Consensus

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold pays tribute to an American literary legend with a richly personal perspective that should thrill devotees while enlightening newcomers.

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Alex McLevy

AV Club

How vital is Didion? Harrison Ford shows up to discuss being her carpenter in '70s Malibu, and all you want is to get back to Joan.

Dec 14, 2017

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April Wolfe

Village Voice

Director Dunne continues in this family tradition here -- he respects Didion enough to let her decide how much she wants to reveal, and Didion trusts Dunne to get it right on the screen.

Nov 30, 2017

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Anna Leszkiewicz

New Statesman

If you're at all interested in Didion's life and work, those flashes are worth watching.

Nov 10, 2017

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Diana Cheng

Ripple Effects

Listening to the narration in the documentary and seeing the iconic photos and footage of significant turns of history, Didion’s analyses just as well could have applied to our world today... “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.”

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 9, 2023

Full Review

Hannah Keegan

Dazed and Confused

Emphasises the writer's special combination of human fragility and literary stature.

Feb 28, 2019

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Shawn Glinis

Film Inquiry

Trying to cover Joan Didion the person, the writer and the wife and mother in 95 minutes couldn't be anything but incomplete and broad.

Jan 19, 2018

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Maddie S

My mom recommended this movie, and even though I had never heard of Joan Didion, I decided to watch it. Didion’s career was expansive, and it was interesting to hear about it in detail. But what was most moving was her insight into grief and loss. Beautifully haunting and inspiring.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/09/24

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sofia g

I never heard her name before I saw this documentary, and afterward I have more questions than answers. There was too little actual information about what she did and what happened.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/21/23

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georgan g

The documentary was well done, but frankly I didn't like Didion's character. She needed "protection" so much that she stayed married to someone whose rage was triggered by "everything"? Guess clever people aren't as emotionally mature as you might assume.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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david f

While Didion's life doesn't quite have as much interest as her writing, this was a good briefing on the biographical details of one of my favourite writers.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

It is a poetic movie - of the human experience, life experience of a writer, an artist, the documentary is suspenseful and illuminating. You get a true slice of the Joan Didion experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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william k

Intimate documentary directed by the author's nephew gives a quite comprehensive overview of her life and works and - especially the recent years - strongly and excruciatingly tinged with tragedy, loss and grief.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Griffin Dunne

Director

Joan Didion

Self

Hilton Als

Self

Tom Brokaw

Self

Griffin Dunne

Self

Harrison Ford

Self

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Synopsis

Actor and director Griffin Dunne uses a treasure trove of archival footage to chronicle Joan Didion's influential career.

Director: Griffin Dunne
Producer: Annabelle Dunne, Griffin Dunne, Mary Recine, Susanne Rostock
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 28, 2017
Runtime: 1h 34m

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