Salinger

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Salinger

PG-13,

2013,

2h 9m,

Documentary

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Watchlist

39%

85 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Filmmaker Shane Salerno examines the life of famously reclusive writer J.D. Salinger, author of "The Catcher in the Rye."

Critics Consensus

A so-so documentary about a fascinating personality, Salinger has moments of insight but is too often bogged down by reenactments and a lack of attention to the man's actual writings.

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Neal Justin

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Jan 21, 2014

Too bad that Salinger offers no real insight into the elusive writer and is fueled almost entirely by trivial anecdotes.

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Wesley Morris

Grantland

Jan 6, 2014

The movie has a shallow, paparazzo literalism. It just wants to catch the legendarily reclusive Salinger getting into a Jeep.

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Soren Andersen

Seattle Times

Sep 23, 2013

3/4

What emerges is a portrait of an enigma.

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

Nov 5, 2025

3/5

Ultimately, the film never really gets to the bottom of why Salinger spent almost half of his adult life living in secrecy, but it still makes for a useful primer to one of the 20th century's most fascinating literary figures.

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Nov 27, 2019

Despite its shortcomings, Salinger is not only interesting, but enlightening for those unfamiliar with this voice of a generation.

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Tara Judah

Overland

Jan 30, 2019

Beyond its disturbing aspersions cast on mental illness, the film tells a story that is inherently flawed by the absence of its own key player.

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Jun 18, 2018

2/3 of the documentary on reclusive author J.D. Salinger is engaging and fascinating learning about how J.D. grew to become a writer, join the army and his early failures in love. However, the latter third of the film drifts into tabloidish filmmaking with overdramatic music, silly editing tricks and unnecessary graphics that appear to be something out of TruTV or our modern-day "news" outlets, not an actual documentary.

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Hagrid R

Mar 16, 2014

I found it fascinating to just to see photos of the elusive Salinger.

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Shane Salerno

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Philip Seymour Hoffman

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Shane Salerno examines the life of famously reclusive writer J.D. Salinger, author of "The Catcher in the Rye."

Director: Shane Salerno
Producer: Shane Salerno, Buddy Squires, Deborah Randall, Craig Fanning
Screenwriter: Shane Salerno
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: The Story Factory
Rating: PG-13 (Smoking|Disturbing War Images|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $575.8K
Runtime: 2h 9m

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