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Chuck Close

  NR Closed Captioning

Marion Cajori

View More In Documentary

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Plot Summary

CHUCK CLOSE, an astounding portrait of one of the world's leading contemporary painters, was one of two parting gifts (her second is a film on Louise Bourgeois) from Marion Cajori, a filmmaker who died recently, and before her time. With editing completed by filmmaker Ken Kobland, CHUCK CLOSE limns the life and work of a man who has reinvented portraiture. Close photographs his subjects, blows up the image to gigantic proportions, divides it into a detailed grid and then uses a complex set of colors and patterning to reconstruct each face. The genius of this film is not only to allow the artist to illuminate his methodology (he is wonderfully articulate), but also to feature his friends and colleagues (Brice Marden, Robert Storr, Dorothea Rockburne, Philip Glass, Arne Glimcher, Kiki Smith, Elizabeth Murray, Alex Katz, Kirk Varnedoe, among others) who make important contributions to appreciating Close's gifts.

Credits

Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews

TOMATOMETER

100%
  • Reviews Counted: 6
  • Fresh: 6
  • Rotten: 0
  • Average Rating: 7.6/10

Top Critics' Reviews

Fresh: Chuck Close, about the painter, photographer and printmaker by the documentary filmmaker Marion Cajori, truly excels in its depiction of the physical process of making art. – Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times, Jun 24, 2010

Fresh: [Director Marion] Cajori's inventive, endlessly fascinating two-hour take draws freely from those prior studies, and from footage featuring Close and his contemporaries. – Ronnie Scheib, Variety, Jun 24, 2010

Fresh: Although the painting montages become somewhat burdensome in their repetition, and an epilogue feels academic in every sense, when Cajori finally pulls away from the finished portrait, the sense of a job done to brimming satisfaction is acutely twofold. – Michelle Orange, Village Voice, Jun 24, 2010

Fresh: The result is a portrait that should interest art-savvy viewers and neophytes alike. – V.A. Musetto, New York Post, Jun 24, 2010

Read More About This Movie On Rotten Tomatoes

Customer Reviews

CLose enough

Really a great film. Revealing quite a bit about Chuck's personal and studio life as well as giving a very detailed explanation of his past and the state of the art world of his time. Much of what he says can be found in his charlie rose interviews as well some other interveiws and taped letures. Still a very interesting film as you get a good amount of exposure to his process and see how the man makes his art. Plenty of other art stars weigh in as well. A great video for art historians and artists from any feild

Just Okay

I was underwhelmed. More than half of the film was dedicated to artists other than Chuck Close. Some talked about him, but a lot just talked about themselves. I would have much rather spent that time hearing what Close had to say about his art, which he does, although not enough. I get that Cajori was trying to create a sense of Close's prismatic way of painting, but I would rather have more raw information.
I will say that I came away from this film with a lot more respect for Close's work. Maybe just rent it.

better thank okay

Just the images of the works of art in a moving image is great. I saw so many things that I would never had seen i n a book. I would rent it for sure just to see Chuck Closes's works like you would normally never get to see.

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