The Film Club: A Memoir

The Gift from Father to Son and Back

Life with kids involves a lot of give and take, all in an effort to keep them on a path that will lead them to adulthood intact. What a wonderful gift Mr. Gilmore has given us by taking on his own journey with his son Jesse, through the travails of leaving school, girlfriend angst, rock and roll success and of course, three movies a week with Dad in return. It a touching treatise on parenthood in the real world where nothing is really planned and things happen because that's the way life is. Hard. Unpredictable. And through the movies, we find some lessons, some grounding and something valuable to share. Read this book. You won't be disappointed.

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The Film Club

If you're a film fan that I suggest you read this book. The book is about a father who allows his son to drop out of high school as long as he watches three movies a week. As a huge film I could appreciate what the father said about the films he chose to show his son Jesse. What I liked the most was that he chose films to base around what was going on in their lives at those moments. Yes it's a memoir about the three years they watched movies together, but it was also so much more. You get to see the beginning of a great father/son relationship and a young teenager turning into a man.

If you decide to read this movie I do have to forewarn you that there are moments in which the endings of the films they discuss are revealed. They put a listing of all the films they watched at the back of the book, so you can always check the back and see if there are films you absolutely don't want to know the endings too.

A Drinking Memoir

While he is a gifted writer and very knowledgeable film critic, the depictions of accepted teenage drinking and drug use were a bit odd. It's nice to watch revealing movies, perhaps "Leaving Las Vegas" or "28 Days" might be good as well...
Alcohol is a drug. 10-15 MILLION alcoholics can vouch for that. I'm not one, but have known a few...

parenting outside the box

The lengths that Mr. Gilmore went to in order to save his son was truly amazing. He knew his decision to allow his son to drop out of school would be unpopular, but ultimately it strenthened the bond between father and son, and taught the boy invaluable life lessons. Though they had a few hiccups along the road, this father showed how devoted he is to his only son. The best way to read this book is to watch movies from the filmography as you are going along. A truly remarkable book

David Gilmour's book, The Film Club, is an original, thought -provoking story of the relationship between a father and his teenage son.

Mr. Gilmour drew me in with his frank,easy way of writing. I enjoyed the love-hate relationship the father and son had with each other. You could see the delicate balance played out in one scene after another. The story had an interesting twist at the endthat had me shocked and delighted at the same time. It was a good read.

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