It's been a week since I've seen The Historian and I'm still digesting it. This fact alone should say something about the impact it had on me.
The film explores the politics and roadblocks of academia, something I have no personal experience with yet can still relate with the themes of the story, unfortunately.
Miles Doleac has said that The Historian is his most personal film and it truly shows. For a debut movie I was surprised at just how great it was. That's not to say I doubted the filmmaker's ability but debut films can be hit and miss. TheHistorian is a homerun and that's due to its character development and honesty.
I loved all the characters (except one that I'll get to later) and my main complaint with the film's runtime is I wish it were longer. I think it would have made a great miniseries.
My favorite character is Anna (Jillian Taylor) , which makes a scene toward the end all the more gut-wrenching. Jillian brings such a positive energy to Anna's character, reminding me of Erin from The Office.
William Sadler gave a phenomenal performance as Valerian Hadley, head of the History department. Dr. Hadley is a completely unlikable dick but Willaim Sadler brings a complexity to the character, making him more human and relatable in a sense. We see Dr. Hadley as someone who's lost the fire they once had and having to watch his father suffer of alzheimers disease adds insult to injury. Yet, in those last moments where we might hope to see a sliver of change in his heart, Dr. Hadley lowers himself even more by forcing himself onto a young woman. It's a scene that would piss anyone off, even more so if you've experienced this situation first-hand.
In closing, The Historian is, to me, a perfect film that shows the grim realities of life. In this movie we see the flaws and underbelly of academia but I believe these issues lie within most work environments, personally.
The film explores the politics and roadblocks of academia, something I have no personal experience with yet can still relate with the themes of the story, unfortunately.
Miles Doleac has said that The Historian is his most personal film and it truly shows. For a debut movie I was surprised at just how great it was. That's not to say I doubted the filmmaker's ability but debut films can be hit and miss. TheHistorian is a homerun and that's due to its character development and honesty.
I loved all the characters (except one that I'll get to later) and my main complaint with the film's runtime is I wish it were longer. I think it would have made a great miniseries.
My favorite character is Anna (Jillian Taylor) , which makes a scene toward the end all the more gut-wrenching. Jillian brings such a positive energy to Anna's character, reminding me of Erin from The Office.
William Sadler gave a phenomenal performance as Valerian Hadley, head of the History department. Dr. Hadley is a completely unlikable dick but Willaim Sadler brings a complexity to the character, making him more human and relatable in a sense. We see Dr. Hadley as someone who's lost the fire they once had and having to watch his father suffer of alzheimers disease adds insult to injury. Yet, in those last moments where we might hope to see a sliver of change in his heart, Dr. Hadley lowers himself even more by forcing himself onto a young woman. It's a scene that would piss anyone off, even more so if you've experienced this situation first-hand.
In closing, The Historian is, to me, a perfect film that shows the grim realities of life. In this movie we see the flaws and underbelly of academia but I believe these issues lie within most work environments, personally.