Film critics discuss their profession at HS Documentary Film Festival
A panel discussion on the evolving art of film criticism featuring three film critics was among the final events of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, which wrapped up Saturday at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.
Moderated by Abby Sun, the hourlong panel included film critics Monica Castillo, Vikram Murthi and Noel Murray.
“The idea of the panel really came from the fact that this is the first year that here at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival that we’ve made a big push to bring in … these critics,” Sun said.
“We wanted to highlight their work because one of the things that I found … is that a lot of filmmakers don’t understand how it is that film reviews get published,” she said.
Each of the three critics has worked for noted publications or websites. Castillo has worked for The New York Times, NBC, NPR and RogerEbert.com. Murthi has worked for The A.V. Club, Vulture and RogerEbert.com. Murray has worked for The A.V. Club, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Rolling Stone.
Castillo, asked about the “nuts and bolts” of her profession, noted that she is “midcareer” and, for most of her assignments, pitches ideas to editors.
“I will let an editor know that I am interested in writing about this movie; here’s what I want to write about it,” Castillo said. She also said that she is on a roster of critics at several places. “They may contact me and say ‘here’s a list of movies I need you to cover, can you get to these,’” she said.
Murthi said that he has a similar situation to Castillo, adding that he is “not as experienced” as the other two critics. He said that he has been freelancing for around five years. “There are several outlets that will reach out and be like ‘Hey, do you want to review this?’ and I always say yes, because we all need money,” Murthi said.
Murray, who is based out of Conway, said that he has been a critic for around 30 years, “20 really in earnest.” “I’m at the point in my career where I don’t really pitch a lot … a lot of times they just call me,” Murray said.
Murray said that critics have to be able to do many different
things or “have a diverse portfolio.” For example, he said that essays and TV recaps are both things he does in addition to writing film reviews.
“More and more outlets don’t necessarily want reviews, because people don’t necessarily read reviews, what they read are takes. So if you have a take on a movie, they’re more interested in having you pitch it out to them,” Murray said.
Murthi agreed. “I think it’s kind of sad because I think that film reviews are a dying art form,” he said, but disagreed that people don’t read film reviews.
“I think more people read film reviews than editors would let you believe,” Murthi said.
Castillo added that film critics also do a lot of interviews. “There was once an editor who told me like ‘Oh, you can’t do interviews.’ ‘What do you mean I can’t do interviews? I’m a reporter, too,’” Castillo said. “The next gig I had I was interviewing almost every other day.”
Sun asked the panel to define a “good take.”
“I love a take that makes me think. I love a take that walks me through that person’s process,” Castillo said.
Both Murthi and Murray said that reviewers need to be knowledgeable about their subject.
“You can always tell when someone has done their homework, it’s very easy to tell,” Murthi said.
Murray also said that it is good to weigh the positions when writing. For example, he is suspect when he sees a documentary that doesn’t include dissenting voices.
As far as including the history of film or the industry, Murray said that when he was growing up he would read Roger Ebert’s reviews. He said that when Ebert would reference an old movie, “I would make a note of it and go watch it later on.”
Other tips the trio gave included the need to network, the need to read and the need to be nice. They also recommended going to more film festivals.
The critics were also asked if they ever change their opinions.
Murthi said that he will often find four or five years later that his opinions have changed on movies. He said it is good to be humble and to be aware of ignorances and blind spots.
“Your tastes change,” Castillo said.
“It’s OK to be wrong about something,” Murray said.