Lane, Anthony 1962-

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LANE, Anthony 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born 1962; married Allison Pearson (a columnist and TV journalist); children: two. Education: Educated at Cambridge, England.

ADDRESSES:

Home—London, England. Office—New Yorker, 4 Times Square, New York, NY 10036-6592

CAREER:

Film Critic. Independent, London, England, deputy literary editor, 1989-1993, Sunday film critic, 1991-93; New Yorker, New York, NY, film critic, 1993—.

WRITINGS:

Nobody's Perfect: Writings from the New Yorker, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

From his enviable perch at the New Yorker, Anthony Lane has been one of the premier movie critics since 1993. Hired by Tina Brown from the Independent, an English newspaper, Lane continues to live in London but makes frequent trips to New York City. Nobody's Perfect: Writings from the New Yorker brings together ten years of Lane's criticism, with commentary and an introduction describing his initial experiences occupying the late Pauline Kael's office at the New Yorker. In addition to his views on films such as Forrest Gump (he disliked it) and Titanic (he liked it), the pieces include book reviews and a few profiles of cultural figures such as Nabokov and Buster Keaton, and even a piece on the joys of playing with Legos. "Throughout, Lane upholds the sterling virtue of good writing combined with wit and emotional engagement. But he makes no claim to be right about anything," commented Spectator reviewer Ian Thomson. Laura Miller, reviewing the book for the New York Times, also noted a certain restraint, in contrast to his predecessor: "It's exactly the egotism of great film critics that Lane lacks. Kael grabbed her readers by the scruff of the neck and carried us through her experience of a movie like so much baggage.… Lane, on the other hand, does not insist. He cajoles."

Most reviewers noted Lane's suppleness of language, and his comic gifts. "His prose is an amalgam of humor, intelligence, discernment, and style," in the words of Booklist reviewer Brad Hooper. "He is intellectual, witty, entertaining, and, without a doubt, one of the finest reviewers of our time," wrote Library Journal contributor Ken Winter. For some, Lane's prose set just the right tone. Novelist John Banville, writing in the Guardian, concluded, "It is a large part of Lane's greatness as a film reviewer—yes, greatness—that he sets this popular art form at exactly the right level of seriousness.… Nobody's Perfect shimmers with positively Nabokovian elegance, wit and delicacy of expression; it is hard to recall when one was made to laugh out loud like this and at the same time shiver with aesthetic bliss."