Pauline Kael

Kael wrote about films as they feel in the moment of watching, in fast, conversational prose, and that made readers trust their own pleasure and boredom. Her 1967 review of Bonnie and Clyde for The New Yorker, which explained why its violence and comedy unsettled audiences, helped rescue the film and announced a new kind of criticism. She was there from 1968 to 1991. Her collections, such as I Lost It at the Movies, are best read for her close attention to performances and pacing rather than for her verdicts, which were often wilfully contrary.