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Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean review
Cannes film festival: Barnaby Thompson’s documentary on the great British director is an exhilarating delve into the ebb and flow of Lean’s peerless career and sometimes complex personal life – with a grand cast of talking heads
TL;DR
- The documentary portrays David Lean's career as a bold, adventurous undertaking, marked by strong leadership and dramatic flair.
- Lean's personal life, characterized by romantic restlessness and a complex relationship with his father, is linked to themes in his films.
- The film covers Lean's directorial evolution from editor to acclaimed director of epics shot on location, such as 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' and 'Lawrence of Arabia'.
- Despite later critical challenges and changing tastes, Lean's career concluded with the well-received adaptation of 'A Passage to India'.
- The documentary features interviews with prominent directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Greta Gerwig, and Steven Spielberg, alongside archive footage of Lean.