Many popular novels and comic books have been turned into movies, but The Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger holds out against this convention, refusing to let his stories be adapted for the big screen. It’s fairly well known that author J.D Salinger vehemently believes in the artistic control of his works and the privacy of his life. He is an elusive public figure whose reclusive lifestyle has become legendary. Despite incredible literary success and widespread popularity, or more likely because of it, the author moved to quiet Cornish, New Hampshire in the 1970s and did not publish any new works after 1965. "A writer's feelings of anonymity-obscurity are the second most valuable property on loan to him," he has said. Salinger has attempted (half-successfully) to discourage the discussion of his personal life, legally acting against the publishing of his personal correspondence with friends and family as well as declining most interviews with the media, and at best releasing sparsely worded replies to even The New York Times.

Salinger and Hollywood

In 1948, a film adaptation of his short story “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” angered Salinger so much that he refused to ever work with Hollywood again. It is rumored that he even had the barring of giving movie rights to anyone for his stories written into his last will and testament as a result of this incident. Unauthorized films have listed Salinger’s novels as part of their writing, but these films are all obscure, foreign productions (an Iranian full length film based on Franny and Zooey as well as a Mexican short based on an unnamed Salinger novel) that had very limited exposure.

The Sort-of Salinger Movies

Given the circumstances, no official The Catcher in the Rye or Franny and Zooey film has ever been made, much to the dismay of many Holden Caulfield fans and filmmakers. All the same Salinger-influenced filmmakers have put a heavy dose of his flavor into their films and even lifted essential storylines, motifs, and characters from his works. To be sure, Salinger has a deep influence on literature and culture today that goes beyond a small cult following, and the impact of his writing pervades thinking in our own lives, the books we read, and the movies we watch in almost unconscious ways. The films listed below differ from this subtle, imbedded influence because they are deliberate attempts to put to film Salinger’s ideas and style. Few really hit the mark or achieved the same lucidity Salinger has with his trademark insights into alienation, adolescence, and discontent. The emotional and psychological drive of Salinger’s remarkably simple prose is difficult if not impossible to translate onto film.

Despite shortcomings, worthwhile to watch…

These films are interesting to look into because by comparison, they allow a concrete contrast to be made, and for the viewer/reader to think about the originality and complexity of Salinger’s writing. Perhaps because the films cannot fully delve into his writing they strive merely for an essence of it, or a small signature part of it. One thing about making a “Salinger-esque” film seems to be understood, you’ve gotta have angst, aimless strolling, and misunderstood, sensitive young men. Don’t scoff just yet though…all are definitely worth the time of Salinger fans. The movies provide entertaining new ideas and perceptions of his writing as well bringing to focus the keen interest our society has with such storylines and characters (despite their superficiality when compared to the original). Some of the films are by far better than others, and hold up as poignant, original stories all their own.

Finding Forrester

The intellectually gifted but unguided Jamal Wallace from the Bronx gets a scholarship to a top prep school after a standardized test reveals his true abilities. While he navigates an alien social world where he is seen merely as the black jock basketball star, his secret passion for writing is discovered by a reclusive author in his home neighborhood. This reclusive author, William Forrester (played by Sean Connery) develops a friendship with him and becomes his mentor for writing. Like the movie it is often compared to, “Good Will Hunting”, it focuses much on the struggle to develop and accept one’s talents and individuality. While the mentoring relationship smacks of “Good Will Hunting” rip-off, the film is truly a distinctive story. “Finding Forrester” focuses much more on the mentor figure’s own complexes with life, and uses the outlook-change of the mentor to really clinch the movie’s end. Melodrama surges now and then, mostly during writing and heart-to-heart sessions between Wallace and Forrester, but the rest of the film is relatively believable and well-done.

The J.D. Salinger Connection: If you haven’t already guessed, the reclusive author character, William Forrester, is based on J.D. Salinger. The film indulges the lonely genius-type quite a bit, as Connery’s character scoffs at his literary critics, traverses around an apartment full of books and papers and spouts about the art of writing with an air of frustration with the world’s glamorization of it. It’s not exactly a presumptuous portrayal of just Salinger but really more of a light caricature of solitary geniuses and eccentric artists in general. It’s an ambitious manifestation of all the scrutiny and theories about Salinger’s real-life hermitage and his views on his own writing. In short, it tries to fully portray Salinger’s mind (or a Salinger-like mind) with a lot of emphasis on his assumed neurosis and emotions. In a gossipy way, it’s enjoyable to watch as a complete depiction of his mythic character. Who knows, perhaps it is entirely accurate.

The Good Girl

Perhaps this film is most notable as one that displays Jennifer Aniston’s serious acting talents. This dark story features an impressive cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal (“Donnie Darko”, “The Day After Tomorrow”) and John C. Reilly (“Magnolia”, “Chicago”), both veritable actors in supporting roles. The supporting cast, in particular Gyllenhaal and O’Reilly, are suited for thoughtful, sensitive, smaller films, and they fit into this one perfectly. A discount store clerk, played by Jennifer Aniston, has a stereotypically complete life with her doting husband, working class social life, and ordinary job. Despite this normal happiness, the monotony of it bothers and drives her to take on an affair with an odd fellow employee (Gyllenhaal) who seems to sense and resist the monotony she feels too. As she becomes more and more involved with him, she begins to examine her own life more. The film has a steady crescendo that will have you biting your nails at the end, wondering what life she will choose. Gyllenhaal plays the angsty, earnest young man perfectly as always, it’s a role that he seems to have cut out as his specialty. The humdrum quality of everyday life is captured flawlessly, almost comically at times, at the “Retail Rodeo” (Aniston’s place of employment), where at least half of the movie is aptly set in, emphasizing the trapped feelings of Aniston’s character. Despite the twists and turns of the movie, the overall mood of weak frustration hardly ever fluctuates, keeping the foundation of the film’s theme intact and ever-present. Though there are many opportunities to turn the film into a crusade against society or make Aniston or Gyllenhaal the voice of freedom, the story remains beautifully mysterious and complex to the very last scene. It is an original and thought-provoking mixture of depression and comfort that is deliberately down-to-earth and realistic.

The J.D. Salinger Connection: Gyllenhaal’s character is especially eccentric because he insists that he is an incarnation of Holden Caulfield. The distinguishing blank book cover of The Catcher in the Rye is waved about several times by his character, affirming the direct and somewhat daring reference. It is a connection that is not just used as a clever character-defining detail, but is the character’s active influence throughout most of the film. Naturally, the movie gets across Gyllenhaal’s frustration with his life and the way of the world very clearly via this reference to Holden Caulfield. It comes across rather comically, and at times the pathetic assertiveness of Gyllenhaal intentionally serves to provoke reactions about how people deal with feelings of anonymity, alienation, and powerlessness. The pitiable status of this character rather eliminates the pretentiousness that can easily be evoked when dealing with the superiority of a Caulfield-like character. Thus, “The Good Girl” deserves a good amount of credit in putting out a truly affecting Salinger-esque character.

Chasing Holden

A lonely prep school student, played by DJ McQualls (a mainly unknown, but talented actor from films that bombed like “The New Guy” and “The Core”), feels deeply connected to J.D. Salinger after reading The Catcher in the Rye for school. His teacher, a young sort of cool, rebel figure, assigns him a paper on the book, which Neil (McQualls) takes on passionately as a serious fan. After his parents abandon him for the holidays and he begins to distrust all the adults around him, Neil grows incredibly determined to solve his feelings of disappointment and disillusionment with his world. Along with a fellow prep schoolmate, TJ, a young woman who serves as the romantic interest, he goes on a rebellious quest to meet J.D. Salinger. The quest becomes a symbol for the wisdom and enlightenment Salinger’s writing touched Neil with. This film is basically a “B” film, and was likely released straight to video, overall the quality of acting and writing is reflected in that status. While McQualls is a great actor, the role is ill-suited for him. It plays exactly into the simplistic, indulgent daydreams of likely many young fans of Salinger, and in the movie there is an actor playing the author himself. Excerpts from the novel are also frequently read to punctuate experiences Neil has, very melodramatically read and just in general the movie is overdone. Neil essentially re-lives Holden’s experiences, complete with wandering in New York City. It is an ambitious attempt to take the subject exactly where many have imagined it, but it relies heavily on clichés and fails to come across artfully.

The J.D. Salinger Connection: The connection is far too ingrained and blatant in the plotline to be pored over again. The excerpts from the novel and the portrayal of Salinger are assumed to be unauthorized. Perhaps they went under the radar due to the film’s very poor quality and limited exposure.

Igby Goes Down

This is an energetic and witty tale of young Igby, a misfit in a wealthy New York City family. It’s an artsy gem with a suitably artsy cast that stars Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Ryan Phillipe, Jeff Goldblum, Amanda Peet, and Susan Sarandon. Scarred by the mental deterioration of his father and bullied by a snobby mother and brother, Igby is fragile, rebellious, and a failure at conventional measure of success, especially school. Military school provides the title of the movie, as Igby is beaten up by classmates for being late, they shout “Igby goes down!” Thus the mood of the movie is pointedly made, a mixture of cruelty, injustice, jadedness, and fragility. Because Igby finds only depression and alienation in his given world of Hamptons cocktail parties, social-know how, wealth, and intellectualism, he awkwardly searches for new people and places to find happiness. The experiences, sleeping with fashionable mistresses, cavorting with drag-queen muses, are conveniently more exciting than what it actually realistic. At times Igby’s ease with existing in both upper-crust ties and newfound voyeuristic lifestyle evokes too obviously that he is a hip black-sheep, rather than as someone we really want to empathize with as a lost soul. His adventures range from genuinely funny to inappropriate to tragic, and instead of becoming redefined, he begins to accept life’s complexities. The film is driven by quirky incidents and rapid-fire dialogue (with a heavy dose of Igby’s own sarcasm). The views of New York City are distinct and highly enjoyable, from sadistic field hockey jocks combating in Central Park to the sullen backdrop of garish St. Mark’s Street, the shots fit the film’s disjointed yet flowing feeling.

The J.D. Salinger Connection: Igby is clearly a Holden Caulfield based character. In fact, Salinger himself attended a military school after being kicked out of various prep schools (identical to Igby’s character). The evocation of the genuine shock and fear true isolation and lack of direction has comes across very clearly in this movie. While other aspects of the film, especially Igby’s superiority to his yuppie connection, is highly glamorized to some degree of faint annoyance, the issue of alienation in other scenes comes across sincerely and emotionally. Some may argue that Holden’s condescension is often annoying given his social status, so perhaps to some viewers the novel and film are nearly identical in effect. As Igby takes his angst-ridden walks through the city streets like Holden, Culkin’s acting comes across wonderfully and the cold-feeling of the camerawork brings out all of the effects of the indifferent urban environment. Just as the death of his brother Allie deeply affects Holden’s development, Igby is haunted by his father’s “death” (when his father succumbs completely to schizophrenia and institutionalized permanently).

The Royal Tenenbaums

Angelica Houston and Gene Hackman are the heads of a pathetic family of eccentrics that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Luke Wilson. All the children are former child prodigies that could never cope with growing out of the safety of being precocious children into full-fledged adult geniuses. Each one has great accomplishments, a playwright, an inventor, and a tennis star, but all still continue to be wrapped up in the cloud of disappointment of their family rather than function as individuals. Despite the familial chains, each character maintains a sort of rigid yet false individuality that is comic and heartbreaking at times. The film is famous (and infamous) for the steady, painstaking development of the characters, rarely giving huge insights into each character and relying instead on constant interaction and individual action to flesh each person out. While it evokes an intense air of detachedness, the intimate details work themselves into a very full picture of family relationships. Dead-pan comedy is prevalent and becomes practically an art form with director and writer Wes Andersen and is a popular aspect of this film as well as many of his others.

The J.D. Salinger Connection: The Tenenbaums are suspiciously close to Salinger’s beloved “Glass” family. In many short stories, as well as the novels Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters, and Seymour: An Introduction, the Glass family appears in fragments (focusing on one or two characters within one story), though Seymour was clearly the favorite of Salinger. Like the Tenenbaums, the Glasses were a family of former child geniuses that faced extreme difficulty adjusting to adulthood. The slightly cold, professional bonds between both families’ children had a deeper, intriguing core of genuine warmth, acceptance, and trust only family members can give. “The Royal Tenenbaums” focused more heavily on the parental influence, the Hackman and Houston characters, whereas Salinger rarely discussed the Glass parents, sticking mainly to the lives of Buddy, Franny, Zooey, Seymour, et al.

Watch and Enjoy

“To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Gone With the Wind”, and “Rebecca”, these are all rare examples of films that have done justice to their original material and brought only further appreciation to the essence of their stories. Most movies based on books of course do not meet these standards, and perhaps stories as timeless as Salinger’s deserve only such exceptional treatment. These five movies in no way gain any footing on the same level as such masterpieces of literature and film, but they are treats, if not treasures, for an avid fan.

External Links:

• Netflix - DVD rental online
• Amazon.com-books - Book purchasing online
• Letters to J.D. Salinger Book Homepage - Upcoming book featuring his fanmail