I'm not a very literary guy, so my knowledge of great writers would graded as "poor." That's my excuse for never having heard of Nelson Algren prior to watching "Algren," the 2021 documentary covering this mid-20th century American writer best known for his National Book Award winner, The Man With the Golden Arm.
Although I saw the film that was based on that book, I never knew anything about the source material. Well, that's not entirely true: many years ago, I worked with a fellow who claimed he helped write the adapted screenplay for "The Man With the Golden Arm" but received no credit because he had been blackballed as part of the Joe McCarthy debacle. No idea if he was telling the truth.
In "Algren," director Michael Caplan ("Stones from the Soil") uncovers the Chicago roots and life experiences that led Nelson Algren to make his mark writing about "drunks, pimps, prostitutes, freaks, drug addicts, prize fighters, corrupt politicians, and street hoodlums," topics that weren't often discussed in his era. In all, he produced five novels, several collections of short stories, and nonfiction articles, including an account of the trial of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in the 1970s for Esquire magazine. While Algren was a huge persona in mid-century Chicago, his reputation has waned since then.
Besides Algren's writing, Caplan also gives a lot of attention to Algren's primary love interest, Simone de Beauvoir, a very accomplished author in her own right. She is best-known for The Second Sex, a classic of contemporary feminist literature.
Per "Algren," Beauvoir bounced back and forth between the hard-boiled Chicagoan and French writer and political activist Jean-Paul Sartre, who was one of the key figures of the Existentialist movement. Eventually she left Algren and returned to Sartre. Algren was crushed despite his saying that he wasn't.
Michael Caplan's documentary on Nelson Algren's life and work is informative and enlightening, if not particularly exciting. You can look at it as a primer on Algren. He's an interesting fellow, and the film contains a lot of great historic photos of the seedier side of Chicago. That helped to make it a worthwhile watch to me.
| Movie title | Algren |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2021 |
| MPAA Rating | NR |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This documentary on hardboiled writer Nelson Algren is informative and enjoyable, but not a particularly great film. |
