Loving Highsmith
2022
Biography / Documentary / History

Loving Highsmith
2022
Biography / Documentary / History
Plot summary
The story of the life, loves and work of US writer Patricia Highsmith (1921-95), told through her unpublished diaries, her own voice and that of those who knew her, both family and close friends.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Fascinating stuff! Highsmith fans will swoon
Suddenly I Care
Disappointing
I love Patricia Highsmith's work so much. It's almost criminal to think that, at least when I was growing up, she wasn't taught at all in school. Always read the Highsmith book before seeing the movie based on it. As highly regarded as Strangers on a Train and Carol are, neither has one-tenth the extraordinary complexity and moral ambiguity of Highsmith's writing (nor, with the exception of Blanchett's Carol, do any of its characters).
Thus any documentary about this magnificent author is going to be of some interest. But by focusing so relentlessly on Highsmith's relationships with women, the film conveys little of why we should care about Highsmith at all. There is little about her professional life -- relationships with editors, failures, sales volumes, etc., let alone any serious examination of her work.
So for the devoted Highsmith fan the movie is worth watching but nevertheless a disappointment.