Anthony Lane is a British journalist who is a

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine.

Career

Education and early career

Lane attended

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governor ...

and graduated with a degree in English from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he also did graduate work on the poet T. S. Eliot. After graduation, he worked as a freelance writer and book reviewer for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', where he was appointed deputy literary editor in 1989. In 1991, Lane was appointed film critic for ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published ...

''.

''The New Yorker''

In 1993, Lane was asked by ''

's'' then-editor,

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born 21 November 1953), is an English journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of ''The Diana Chronicles'' (2007) a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, '' The Vanity Fair Diarie ...

, to join the magazine as a film critic. He also contributes longer pieces on film subjects — such as

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

and

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

— and aspects of literature (

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...

and

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's great ...

) and the arts (''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

''). A collection of 140 of his ''The New Yorker'' reviews, essays, and profiles was published in 2002 under the title ''Nobody's Perfect'' — a reference to the final line of the film ''

Some Like it Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitne ...

''. A profile of the film's director,

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holly ...

, ends the book.

Lane's maxims

In his introduction to ''Nobody's Perfect: Writings from The New Yorker'', Lane mentions five maxims that "should be obeyed by anyone who, having tried and failed to gain respectable employment, has decided to throw in the sponge and become a movie critic instead": :1) Never read the publicity material. :2) Whenever possible, see a film in the company of ordinary human beings. :3) Try to keep up with documentaries about

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n transsexuals . :4) Whenever possible, pass sentence on a movie the day after it comes out. Otherwise, wait fifty years. :5) Try to avoid the Lane technique of summer moviegoing. The explanation for the fifth maxim is a good example of Lane's style: :On a broiling day, I ran to a screening of ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * C ...

'', the

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

flick about messages from another galaxy. I made it for the opening credits, and, panting heavily – which, with all due respect, is not something that I find myself doing ''that'' often in Jodie Foster films – I started taking notes. These went "v. gloomy", "odd noir look for sci-fi", "creepy shadows in outdoor scene", and so on. Only after three-quarters of an hour did I remember to remove my dark glasses.

Professional recognition

Anthony Lane was awarded the 2001

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for Reviews & Criticism, for three of his New Yorker articles: * ''The Maria Problem'' (14 February 2000), on ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' * ''The Eye of the Land'' (13 March 2000), on the photographs of

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

* ''The Light Side of the Moon'' (10 April 2000), on photographs from the Apollo program Lane has also been nominated for National Magazine Awards on a number of other occasions, but has never won one. The nominations include: * 1996 award for Special Interest, for the article ''Look Back in Hunger'' (18 December), a humorous piece about

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

s * 2000 award for Reviews & Criticism, for the articles ** ''The Man in the Mirror'' (9 August 1999), on

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

** ''In Love with Fear'' (16 August 1999), on

** ''Waugh in Pieces'' (4 October 1999), on

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

In 2008, Lane was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by ''More Intelligent Life'', the web version of the lifestyle publication from ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

''. As of 2010, the movie review aggregation website Metacritic weighted Lane's movie reviews higher than any other critic's.

Personal life

Lane lives in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England with his wife, Allison Pearson, a British writer and columnist. The couple have a daughter, Eveline (born January 1996), and a son, Thomas (born August 1998).

Bibliography

References

External links

Review of Anthony Lane's book ''Nobody's Perfect''
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''
Interview of Anthony Lane by Robert Birnbaum
(3 October 2002)
Anthony Lane
on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Anthony 20th-century British journalists 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century British journalists 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century English male writers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English columnists English film critics Living people People educated at Sherborne School People from Cambridge The Independent people The New Yorker critics Year of birth missing (living people)