Review of My Dinner with Andre (1981) by Keith C — 01 Oct 2012

"My Dinner with Andre" is an iconic film but I struggled to stay awake. The film is literally a 100-minute long conversation and I would struggle to stay awake listening to two people converse for that long in real life.

In spite of my focus-related struggle, the content of this film is fascinating. The screenplay by Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn explores a variety of interesting topics, eventually pitting Gregory's over-the-top new age worldview against Shawn's humanist worldview.

The entire film feels very candid and real. My favorite moment is Gregory's impassioned telling of a Halloween experience in which he was nearly buried alive. He has such fire in his eyes that you will absolutely believe this to be a true retelling of a life event.

Shawn combats this with a skeptical view of omens, stating that the future must exist now in some form if messages are being sent back to this moment in time. This film is filled with heavy content brought to life through simple yet interesting cinematography (particularly the mirror in the background that often reveals the characters reactions).

"My Dinner with Andre" is definitely intended for intellectuals and it manages to inform just as much as it entertains.