Life (2015) // Film Review

Life is a biographical drama film directed by Anton Corbijn. It is based in America 1955 and looks at the relationship between Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) and James Dean (Dane DeHaan). James is an up and coming actor who is told by everyone that he is going to go far, however, he is lazy and takes things at his own place. Dennis is a photographer and meets James on an assignment where he see’s something in him.

The acting and cast choice was good, however, I never felt immersed in the performance. I felt it was real for the most part, but never immersive. I am not too familiar with the work and life of James Dean so this is all more a comment on the film alone rather than its historical accuracy.

Basic Plot

As mentioned, the two main characters meet when Dennis is on an assignment to take photographs at some sort of party. James is friendly to Dennis and invites him to some other events, the two get on very well and Dennis sees this as an opportunity to get his photos in “life” magazine.

James makes it clear that he is lazy and tries to avoid doing work at all costs. He also makes it clear that he has integrity with the roles he picks, he must believe in the character and like what he is doing. Dennis follows James around while he creates an album of pictures that let the public see what James Dean is really like.

Directors Decisions

The color scheme was perfect for the time period, the costume choice also helped make it more believable. The music was mainly just simple piano chords which felt right, nothing modern that would stick out in a film about 1955. I also found it interesting how they found ways to recreate real photos that were taken of James Dean.

Final Thoughts

Life was an interesting watch but the plot was overall pretty weak, I often found myself checking the time to see how long was left. For these reasons I think Life deserves a 5/10. I wouldn’t discourage someone from watching but I wouldn’t encourage them either