But that's just the beginning as the film goes on, Ebert's portrait (which he narrates himself in spots) gains texture not just through the many interviews with friends who share memories of a man with an deep yearning to experience as much as he could - and demanded the same from the art he reviewed - but time with Ebert himself, who remains eloquent even when cancer has made it impossible for him to speak. As with many biographical films, viewers get to know the writer from childhood on - born in a small Illinois town, dad was an electrician, mom was a homemaker, always wanted to be a journalist. Life Itself is a beautiful documentary that befits a man as complex, intelligent, and compassionate as Roger Ebert. Expect some brief swearing ('s-t,' 'f-k,' etc.), a few quick nude/sex scenes in clips of old movies, and a good deal of talk about drinking and Ebert's eventual realization that he had an alcohol problem. It traces both his career - both as a newspaper critic and on his popular TV show with Gene Siskel - and his personal life, including his late-in-life marriage and the impact of the debilitating disease that robbed him of his ability to speak and eat but not think and write. Parents need to know that Life Itself is a documentary by the director of Hoop Dreams that examines life of acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert, who died in 2013. Later, he realized he had a drinking problem and quit, and the same friends tell more stories about how he managed to get sober and how important it was for him to realize that he needed to stop drinking.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. For many years, Ebert spent almost every night holding court in a Chicago bar, and almost all of his friends have tales of his antics.

Life itself 2014