Butler's Cinema Scene

Nicholas Hoult as author J.D. Salinger

“REBEL IN THE RYE” My rating: B- 

106 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

“Rebel in the Rye,” the new biopic about reclusive author J.D. Salinger, isn’t bad.

Nor is it particularly inspired.

As an overview of Salinger’s early life, his years of frustration and his emergence as a major American voice with Catcher in the Rye, it lays out the facts competently. Director Danny Strong, making his feature debut after a stint with TV’s “Empire,” puts on a decent show with a limited budget.

And former Brit child actor (“About a Boy”) Nicholas Hoult demonstrates  acting chops that could carry him into more leading man roles.

Strong’s screenplay begins with the PTSD-suffering author in a mental institution in the late 1940s, then flashes back a decade to his college years.

At Columbia Jerry Salinger falls under the influence of writing professor Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey), who sees terrific potential in his student despite the kid’s self-indulgence and an unwillingness to take suggestions from anyone. At the same time  Jerry launches a romance with Oona O’Neill (Zoey Deutch), estranged daughter of acclaimed playwright Eugene O’Neill (and future wife of Charlie Chaplin).

Kevin Spacey, Nicholas Hoult

Jerry’s war experience leaves him emotionally shattered. He gradually pulls himself together, writing stories about a teen named Holden Caulfield and disowning his old mentor Burnett over a perceived betrayal.

Eventually the Holden stories coalesce around a novel, Catcher in the Rye, and Jerry becomes a literary cause celeb, only to find himself stalked by deranged young fans who are sure he was writing specifically about them. He becomes a Buddhist, moves to rural New  Hampshire where he becomes something of a hermit, marries and divorces, and refuses to publish…although he continues to write.

Only now, several years after his death, are some of his long-hidden works hitting the presses.

Strong has assembled a stellar cast — among the supporting players are Sarah Paulson, Victor Garber, Hope Davis and Eric Bogosian — and has done a fine job of recreated period NYC on a limited budget.

The centerpiece is Hoult’s performance as Jerry, a stubborn genius so convinced of his own excellence that he refuses to compromise (he won’t even take notes from much more seasoned editors). He’s also emotionally fragile, terrified of being exploited and in turn capable of making life miserable even for those who love him.

In short, a maddening, compelling character. Maybe that’s what it takes to produce great lit.

|Robert W. Butler