Life

Cinedigm | Release Date: December 4, 2015

6.2	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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DotTheEyesDec 12, 2015

In 1955, while awaiting the release of East of Eden and vying for the lead role in Rebel Without a Cause, James Dean met Dennis Stock, an ambitious photographer who saw promise in the actor's agonized, sexy, thoughtful presence and convincedIn 1955, while awaiting the release of East of Eden and vying for the lead role in Rebel Without a Cause, James Dean met Dennis Stock, an ambitious photographer who saw promise in the actor's agonized, sexy, thoughtful presence and convinced LIFE to commission a photographic profile despite his being largely unknown to the public. Life, directed by Anton Corbijn, dramatizes their interaction, including a trip to the Indiana farm where Dean came of age. It is a rather elegant film with a chic, potent mood, but it simply refuses to spring to dramatic life. The photographer-subject relationship is surely a personal topic for Corbijn, who rose to fame creating atmospheric, definitive images of, among other bands, Joy Division and U2 before a rewarding midlife transition to motion-picture directing (Control, The American), but profundity eludes him even as he provides characteristic aesthetic pleasure, and there is a sense his film inflates the personal significance of Dean and Stock to one another. And though they are too photogenic and intense to not draw one's gaze (à la, yes, James Dean), Robert Pattinson must contend with a thinly conceived role as Stock—protagonist as audience lens as cipher—and Dane DeHaan with arguable miscasting as Dean. I half wonder if they should have switched roles. See another film from this year, The End of the Tour, for a far more insightful, poignant, and provocative depiction of the relationship (fractious, searching, symbiotic) shared by a journalist and the guarded artist he is interviewing.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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EpicLadySpongeApr 1, 2016

Life is life and unfortunately, if life hates us, we should hate back on Life, but this movie's insanely too mixed up to end up in the negatives anyways.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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PanchogulAug 6, 2020

Dane DeHaan makes looks James Dean like such a dick, however, Robert Pattinson is amazing as usual.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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SpangleApr 12, 2017

Life is just fine. Telling the story of a photoshoot done for Life Magazine by photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) of James Dean (Dane DeHaan) before he really became James Dean, Life is an interesting film with some nice Golden AgeLife is just fine. Telling the story of a photoshoot done for Life Magazine by photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) of James Dean (Dane DeHaan) before he really became James Dean, Life is an interesting film with some nice Golden Age of Hollywood name drops and some slick digital cinematography, but it just feels done before. Its cliche set up of two men coming together and learning more about themselves before forming a lifelong bond has been done to death and this film hardly breathes, ahem, life into the concept. While DeHaan and Pattinson are solid in their respective roles, the film feels content just going through the motions and referencing old movies and stars as a shortcut to actual character development. That said, as a somewhat buddy film, Life is pretty much easy breezy entertainment that never really becomes too dull, but is never that interesting either.

As James Dean, Dane DeHaan largely captures the essence of the legendary screen actor from his casual coolness to this certain rebellious spirit lying beneath, alongside the general appearance that he could care less about anything in Hollywood. No matter the threats from Jack Warner (Ben Kingsley) regarding his career, Dean never seems to care and instead revels in spending time with his family in Indiana and merely goes through the motions of stardom as he chain smokes cigarettes. He is a man that feels more at home as a farm boy than as a star, perhaps explaining his casual coolness. He is simply not trying because he does not wish to be a star or to be seen. Instead, he is content just being who he is and living on his farm in Indiana with his family. DeHaan captures these two sides of Dean incredibly well, even if his acting slips at moments. These momentary lapses do show that the performance is not perfect, but DeHaan's capturing of Dean's essence is certainly impressive and stands as one of the bigger achievements of his young career.

Opposite him, Robert Pattinson turns in an average performance. Though I think he is deeply underrated and a guy that is better than Twilight would suggest, his performance in Life never seemed natural. He seemed to always be more of a fit for the Dean role than the photographer and it felt as though he kept watching DeHaan with this envy and disinterested knowing that he should have been Dean. In the role of Dennis Stock, a man with a son he never sees and a career going nowhere in Los Angeles, he plays a man with dreams with no passion. No life. He never seems to show excitement and just mopes about and broods in every scene. Perhaps this was how he was, but then Pattinson feels ill-fit for the role as he is more than capable of showing more emotion than none at all. His performance is what contributes to the film feeling largely quite lifeless and without any heart. Though he is fine and performs acceptably, it just never is a performance that invigorates the film or gets you to root for him.

This lack of emotion translates to the film as a whole, no matter how well shot it is. Director Anton Corbijn has shown a knack for making truly gorgeous digitally-shot films in recent years and Life is no exception with a beautiful array of colors that feel entirely modern in how they are shot, but also manage to capture that classic Hollywood feel that the film must have. However, its story and characters just feels so bland. It never really captures the imagination or wows at any point. It is entirely tepid and unwilling to go out on a limb with anything. Instead, it just tells its story in a mildly interesting fashion with pretty okay performances and just fine writing that sort of scratches the surface of the characters, but never goes too in-depth. It is a film that is wholly average and entirely remarkable, even if the Hollywood references are fun and watching DeHaan turn in a solid performance as Dean is enjoyable.

Life is a film from director Anton Corbijn and though it has the same slick cinematography as the other films he has put out recently, it just lacks any sort of soul or heart. It captures the essence of its subjects, but never their heart. This creates quite the crater in the center of the film and leads it feeling largely quite empty and unfulfilling, which is obviously a disappointment for such an interesting subject. As it stands, its reliance upon cliches and name dropping stars (Natalie Wood, Nicholas Ray, Elia Kazan, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Pier Angeli, Jack Warner, and more), feels like Corbijn trying to manipulate the audience into a sense of familiarity instead of actually bringing life to the film as a whole. Life may be slick and cool to watch, but its persona as a film is too reserved to really make a lasting impact. It is the exact opposite of its legendary hero, who became iconic by simply being. Life is forgettable the moment it ends.… Expand

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LeZeeMay 14, 2016

The early days of James Dean in the filmdom.

It was based on the real life story of a young Hollywood star, especially during his early days of the acting career. In the 50s when a photojournalist was looking for a break, he ended up doingThe early days of James Dean in the filmdom.

It was based on the real life story of a young Hollywood star, especially during his early days of the acting career. In the 50s when a photojournalist was looking for a break, he ended up doing a story on James Dean. Initially who hated him, later gives a nod for the interview and so this story begins that focused on the time they spent together.

A simple story, but a very long film. It was neither inspiring nor annoying. It was just like anybody's story around us, that's really boring. Because he was kind of an unfriendly and his tale that told in this film was very dull.

Maybe if you like James Dean and his films, especially interested to learn about him, then you might like this film. But to me this biopic was just okay. Neither I enjoyed it, nor disliked. Yet to see his films which are very small numbers, then I might change my mind about this film, so till then what I said will remains.

5/10… Expand

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alejandro970Jul 31, 2022

Behind every great man, there is a great woman... or photographer. This is a little known aspect in the history of the idol James Dean, how his career would be underpinned by his friendship with a photographer. Here perhaps the only flaw isBehind every great man, there is a great woman... or photographer. This is a little known aspect in the history of the idol James Dean, how his career would be underpinned by his friendship with a photographer. Here perhaps the only flaw is the solemn and slow tone of the plot that requires a lot of patience as a viewer.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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