The Humbling (2014)

The Humbling is Director Barry Levinson's rendering of the 2009 Philip Roth novella of the same name, which if my memory serves was the first book of fiction I ever read in a digital format. Levinson takes his liberties with the book, including changing the ending, and if anything he improved the final product. I recall being disappointed in The Humbling when I read it, in part because I had recently finished Roth's The Human Stain, which is by far the superior novel (the general critical response to The Humbling was that it was one of Roth's weaker efforts). But time and change of format breathed some new life into this for me, with the story benefiting from edits and of course the presence of Al Pacino in the lead. Pacino plays the acclaimed actor Simon Axler, who at 67 finds his talent abandoning him, seemingly all at once one night on stage, and forcing him to retreat into an unwanted retirement. It is in his exile, after a brief stay at a mental institution, that Simon connects with the daughter of old theater friends from decades before, Pegeen Mike Stapleford (Greta Gerwig, a growing favorite of mine) a drama professor at a university near Axler's home, and who despite being a self professed lesbian, soon begins a sexual relationship with Simon. There is of course much fall out from this, and in general everything in Simon's life continues to progress downhill.

While the book did the better job of conveying the relentlessness of Axler's decent, the movie is more enjoyable, in part for that very reason. The supporting roles here make great little characters parts for the likes of Diane Wiest, Charles Grodin and Dylan Baker. Buck Henry's (The Graduate) contribution to the screenplay is well marked, he is the perfect scribe for making cynicism more palatable, and I'm kind of surprised he was still writing. The Humbling is not a great movie, but it makes the most of what it is and elevates presentation over content, which is novel for a 'smart' movie. ***