Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner (2006)

70% of critics liked it
(30 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(633 ratings)

Documentary filmmaker Freida Lee Mock explores the rich life of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner in a film that traces Kushner's career from his 2001 play Homebody/Kabul through his 2004 collaboration with Maurice Sendak on a revised version of Brundibar. A trip to Kushner's hometown… More Documentary filmmaker Freida Lee Mock explores the rich life of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner in a film that traces Kushner's career from his 2001 play Homebody/Kabul through his 2004 collaboration with Maurice Sendak on a revised version of Brundibar. A trip to Kushner's hometown of Lake Charles, LA, provides a personal touch as the playwright attends his father's birthday party, with quiet scenes in his Hudson River Valley retreat offering moments of thoughtful meditation that stand in stark contrast to his harried Manhattan business dealings. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Freida Lee Mock
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts

In Theaters: Nov 3, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Aug 15, 2006
Studio: Balcony Releasing

Critic Reviews

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
This is an exceedingly friendly portrait, a disarming one, too. The filmmaker invites us to reconsider the author as someone warmer and less intimidating than his body of work. On that count, Wrestling With Angels succeeds.
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
The final portrait is unquestionably entertaining, very occasionally teasing and largely adoring. Because Kushner is a devoted political commentator, his thoughts on everything from America's role in the world to the nature of Zionism are on full display.
Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle
Wrestling With Angels is a canny piece of filmmaking, sure to absorb both audiences familiar with Kushner's plays and those who know little or nothing about him.
Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle
A sentimental valentine to a man who, underneath it all, simply wants to move people with his message.
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
This uncritical cinematic embrace doesn't do justice to a playwright who never met a Brechtian dialectic he didn't want to ponder more deeply.
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic
The essence of the film is that [Kushner], with not a touch of evangelistic pomp, cannot conceive of life as anything other than a campaign to improve life.
Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt
Beyond it's educational value for those unfamiliar with Kushner's work, politics, and sexuality (like myself), there's not much to grab onto here.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
A rich and uplifting film.
Marrit Ingman, Austin Chronicle
[Director Freida Lee] Mock's approach to Kushner is so casual and friendly that it never steps outside of his own life for a glimpse of its context.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
A worthwhile but imperfect film.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
Wrestling with Angels is personal and intimate, insightful about Kushner as well as instructive about his collection of works.
Timothy Knight, Reel.com
Flaws aside, Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner is still worth a look for its glimpse at one of the leading voices of 21st century American drama.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
While Wrestling With Angels is definitely a worthwhile experience, you'd expect it to be a more dramatic one, considering what Kushner has produced.
Steven Leigh Morris, L.A. Weekly
It's a loving film, but Kushner's own characters are more richly textured than Mock's depiction of the playwright and the divided, divisive world he's trying to fathom.
Francesca Dinglasan, Boxoffice Magazine
Although the analysis is far from deep, Mock's film succeeds as an above-average introduction to the playwright, especially to an audience unfamiliar with his work.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Even if you're not a fan of his work, it's a good thing to see, and is worth a view when it gets on TV sometime in the new year.