You know what I love most about Movie Lust? When you’re reading it, it’s as if you’re sitting across from its author, talking about movies while sipping a latte, or perhaps a frosty cosmopolitan. Clever and witty, this unusual guide presents films in an intelligent way but with energy and enthusiasm only a true movie-lover could have. Most importantly, this is not an academic diatribe about the controversial use of mise-en-scene in Bergman’s The Magic Flute — though I’m certain McDonagh could speak rather eloquently to that — but rather a guide for the rest of us, for those of us who love movies for being, well, movies.
Born and raised in New York City, Maitland McDonagh says she’s spent far too many hours of her life in dark movie theatres. With an influential job as the senior movies editor of TVGuide.com and columnist (Ask Flick Chick), an impressive educational pedigree (MFA in film from Columbia University, years of teaching at Hunter and Brooklyn College) and four other published books, she certainly has the academic chops to talk about film, but with the release of Movie Lust — lucky for us —she engages an even wider audience. Following the bestselling Book Lust & More Book Lust (both based on the popular NPR show) and Music Lust, McDonagh divides her “recommended viewing for every mood, moment, and reason” into intriguing sections that say as much about the book’s fascinating author as they do the films themselves.
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Maitland some questions about the book, and her life in the dark. So grab a latte or — depending on the time of day — a cosmopolitan, and chat with Flick Chick with me:
What made you want to become a film critic?
I came to movies late: Going to the movies wasn't a family thing when I was growing up, and I read more than I watched television — remember, when I was a child there was no video or DVD, so you saw movies in theaters or on TV or not at all. I grew up in Manhattan in the 1960s and '70s: Movies were kind of expensive — even kiddie matinees – and, frankly, responsible parents did not drop their young kids off at Manhattan movie theaters and pick them up three hours later. You could still do that in the suburbs and small towns, but not here, not then.
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