Jeffrey Overstreet is a writer of fiction, memoir, reviews, and arts journalism — and a teacher of creative writing, film studies, and cultural engagement for people of faith. Visit LookingCloser.org for more information. Jeffrey Overstreet is a writer of fiction, memoir, reviews, and arts journalism — and a teacher of creative writing, film studies, and cultural engagement for people of faith. Visit LookingCloser.org for more information. A Wooden Boy Unbound: What Pinocchio Means to Me
I’m four years old and staring at a screen.
A bizarre figure flails about on a stage, hands and feet jerked by strings. That long nose seems strangely familiar. It’s Pinocchio, but not the Pinocchio I know from my Little Golden Book paraphrase of the Disney movie; this is some kind of public-television dance production.
Read More ›Marcel the Shell’s Movie is Good Medicine for Our Pandemic Recovery
On my way to the office to write this review, I passed Grumpy D’s coffeehouse and saw that it had closed. This place too? So many neighborhood “third places” have disappeared during these past few years of pandemic, lockdown, and economic hardships.
Read More ›In Memory of Peter Shaffer
This morning, a friend showed me some snapshots of her vacation in Italy. As I looked at image after image of extraordinary artistry on display in places both sacred and public, she remarked, “Nobody does stuff like that anymore. You have to wonder why.” Read More ›
The Christian Message of David Fincher’s Gone Girl . . . (Not Really)
It happens all the time. I get an email from an angry reader who says, “Why are you wasting time talking about the technical aspects of a movie? What really matters is the message!” Read More ›
Why I Want to Be George R. R. Martin’s Neighbor
[Editor’s note: We’re really excited about having Jeffrey Overstreet as one of our guest speakers at Hutchmoot 2013. Jeffrey has long been one of my favorite film critics and his book Through a Screen Darkly Read More ›