My favorite Times reporter is Gilbert Cruz, who just put together a smart "photo-essay" on the thirtieth birthday of Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs":
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/14/movies/silence-of-the-lambs-anniversary.html
Cruz includes all the fun trivia: only twice before had a movie taken best actor/actress/film/director/screenplay at the Oscars; Gene Hackman thought the script was offensive; "Lambs" changed the way horror/psychological thriller terrain was perceived in Hollywood (and paved the way for David Fincher).
There is some writerly quirkiness in the Cruz piece; Cruz points out that the Jodie Foster resolve/vulnerability mix is really the secret to the film's success (more than Hopkins's flashiness). Cruz says "Demme loved a (Jodie Foster) close-up," and he provides filmic evidence. ("This isn't even the closest-up of the close-ups.")
"SOTL" is neither all-good nor all-bad--and Cruz respects that (and makes his point in very few words). I also enjoy his wording when he describes the present day: "SOTL is responsible for many spin-offs, and I'll just list the not-bad ones here...."
Another great Cruz piece is "The Essential Stephen King" (also fun and incisive):
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/04/arts/best-stephen-king-books.html
I look forward to more work from Cruz.
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