SUNDANCE 2006: wrestling with angels

Tony Kushner is one of the most celebrated writers in the last twenty years. With ANGELS IN AMERICA, he created a piece of theater that took a look at AIDS and showed it to the world. This work won him multiple Tony awards, an Emmy, Golden Globe and the Pulitzer Prize. Since then, he has continued to write controversial and socially important plays.

WRESTLING WITH ANGELS: PLAYWRIGHT TONY KUSHNER is a documentary that follows Kushner from September 11, 2001 until the presidential election of 2004. In this time we are let inside the mind of a great writer. What inspires him? What obstacles does he face? How does the political climate effect his work? What are his motivations? Since Kushner is such a fascinating and entertaining individual, this is an enjoyable film. I remained interested because of him.

The film itself is too one dimensional to be a great documentary and the filmmaking is a little flat. There is never a “bad” thing that is said about Kushner, as if Frida Lee Mock (the director) is too beg of a fan of him to find flaws. This makes the film less interesting than it could have potentially been. It is worth the journey though. Kushner is fascinating.