The Outsider (2005)

69% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(1,210 ratings)

Filmmaker Nicholas Jarecki offers a celluloid portrait of a cinematic mastermind at work in this documentary shot over an eight month period and following director James Toback through each phase of production of his 2004 thriller When Will I be Loved. From pre-production to final cut, Jarecki… More Filmmaker Nicholas Jarecki offers a celluloid portrait of a cinematic mastermind at work in this documentary shot over an eight month period and following director James Toback through each phase of production of his 2004 thriller When Will I be Loved. From pre-production to final cut, Jarecki follows the existential-minded director through the entire process of making a movie as Toback opens up to the camera to discuss a variety of deeply personal matters and explore just how they have manifested themselves in such films as Love and Money, The Big Bang, and Black and White. Candid interviews with such well-known Toback collaborators as Woody Allen, Robert Towne, Harvey Keitel, Roger Ebert, Brett Ratner, show just how much impact the well-respected filmmaker has had in Hollywood despite his stubborn refusal to fit into the commercialized mold so frequently associated with the showbiz mecca. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Nicholas Jarecki
Genres: Documentary, Television, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jun 16, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Sep 18, 2007
Studio: Green Room Films

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Quite entertaining.
Gene Seymour, Newsday
Jarecki's tour of Toback's world may glean more than probe. But as these kinds of trips go, even looking at the scenery yields fascinating sights and stirs worthwhile curiosity.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
As is often the case with Toback's films, even as you're shaking your head at his shameless self-indulgence, you can't help but keep on watching.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
The Outsider, Nicholas Jarecki's starstruck documentary about the writer and director James Toback, is a tragically missed opportunity to illuminate one of the more unusual cinematic talents working today.
John Anderson, Variety
Jarecki certainly thinks his subject deserves such an accolade, and he's made a great-looking film to make his case, one that is edited gracefully and briskly -- and leaves the heady aftertaste of birthday cake.
Rob Nelson, Village Voice
Among the great docs about moviemaking.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Unless you're a fan, don't bother.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Toback quickly reveals himself as an insufferable, opinionated blowhard who pontificates shamelessly about the art of the cinema while indulging his own obsessions on film.
Devin Faraci, CHUD
Watching The Outsider is like mainlining pure movie love.
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
a piece of maddening hero worship
Ethan Alter, Premiere Magazine
Shot largely during the production of Toback's feature, When Will I Be Loved, Outsider features extensive interviews with many of Toback's longtime friends and colleagues.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
The Outsider doesn't have the edge of a race-conscious James Toback film.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
Little more than a glorified DVD extra.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
Seeing him at work provides little insight into what kind of man Toback is, or even what kind of director he is.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

_kelly .

Fun doc for fans of and those employed in the film biz. Some very interesting and candid interviews with various highly quotable artists. Starts off as a too-glamorized portrait of Toback, but then evolves into interesting as we watch how the man works and witness that distributing an… More
Fun doc for fans of and those employed in the film biz. Some very interesting and candid interviews with various highly quotable artists. Starts off as a too-glamorized portrait of Toback, but then evolves into interesting as we watch how the man works and witness that distributing an indie personal flick is always hell, especially, and even, for this man. It was enjoyable but not a breakthrough composition in terms of the film, sort of just standard fare biopic montage of interviews and old photos with the main thread of the piece being the documentarian's footage of Toback's then newest adventure in film-making.