Kevin Lally on Film

Interviews and more from the former executive editor of Film Journal International and Boxoffice Pro

Dino Risi’s Masterpiece ‘Una Vita Difficile’ Finally Gets Its Closeup

The best film of 2023 (so far) was made in 1961. Let me explain. Dino Risi’s Una Vita Difficile (A Difficult Life) was a critical and popular success in its native Italy, but for some unknown reason was never released in the United States until February 2023—despite the strong track record of contemporaneous Italian imports like La Dolce…

gkevinlally

March 21, 2023

Film Appreciation
Revisiting ‘Looper,’ ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Knives Out’ Creator Rian Johnson’s Breakthrough Feature

I’ve just finished the penultimate episode of my favorite new streaming series, “Poker Face,” a conscious throwback to “Columbo” in which each episode begins with a murder and the fun is in watching Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a human “bullshit detector” on the run from mobsters, solve the crime. The creator of the show is…

gkevinlally

March 2, 2023

Filmmakers, Johnson, Rian
Louis Malle in 1987: ‘My Time Is The Most Precious Thing I Have’

One of my very favorite interviews was with the great French director Louis Malle. In December 1987, he welcomed me into his lovely apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park South and was the essence of charm. We talked about Au Revoir, Les Enfants, his most personal film and his triumphant return to France after a successful decade…

gkevinlally

January 23, 2023

Filmmakers, Malle, Louis
Roman Polanski in 1994: ‘I Don’t Think I Made My Film Yet’

I’ve been hesitant to post my 1994 phone interview with Roman Polanski, for obvious reasons. The now 89-year-old Polish director is arguably more controversial than ever after the emergence of the “Me Too” movement. His sleazy targeting of an underage girl in 1977 (one of several sexual abuse accusations) is inexcusable, but I can’t deny…

gkevinlally

January 9, 2023

Filmmakers, Polanski, Roman
Revisiting ‘Fargo,’ the Coen Brothers’ ‘True Crime’ Classic

The Coen Brothers lied to me. Promoting their 1996 dark comedy Fargo, the filmmaking siblings told the press their crime tale was based on a real incident. The movie itself begins with the statement, “This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the…

gkevinlally

December 30, 2022

Coen, Joel and Ethan, Filmmakers
Thelma Schoonmaker and Michael Powell’s Off-Screen Movie Love Story

I find it hard to believe that it’s been nearly 28 years since I met Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese’s longtime editor. The occasion was a retrospective of films by her late husband, the great Michael Powell, and the restoration of one of his masterpieces, A Matter of Life and Death. Since our 1995 interview, Schoonmaker has been…

gkevinlally

December 15, 2022

Filmmakers, Schoonmaker, Thelma