The majority of film criticism treats film as an aesthetic experience. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, the essays on this site take a different perspective — asking “what are these films really trying to communicate” and looking into their thematic and literary substructure. Instead of focusing on the audience’s emotional reaction, this approach asks why the screenwriter choose one particular turn of phrase instead of another, or why the plot necessarily unfolds in the direction it does.
All the essays on this site are labours of love. While not all the films covered on this site are masterpieces, all are worth watching and a few — Inception and Pan’s Labyrinth among them — count as among the best films ever made. If you enjoy the essays and want to get in touch, feel free to reach out anytime: david@filmreadings.com.