Manohla Dargis

Manohla Dargis
Name	Manohla Dargis
Occupation	Film critic, writer, editor
Years active	1990s–present
Employer	The New York Times

Manohla Dargis is an American film critic and essayist known for her work at The New York Times and her contributions to contemporary film discourse. She has written on a wide range of filmmakers, films, and cinematic movements, engaging with both mainstream productions and independent cinema. Dargis's criticism is noted for its historical awareness, cultural context, and close attention to aesthetics and performance.

Early life and education

Dargis was raised in the United States after being born to immigrant parents, and her background shaped an early interest in arts and letters, exposing her to New York City cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and Lincoln Center. She studied at institutions connected to film and humanities, including programs tied to Columbia University, New York University, and regional film communities associated with the New York Film Festival and independent theaters like the Anthology Film Archives. Her formative encounters included screenings of works by directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Satyajit Ray, while reading criticism from voices at Cahiers du Cinéma, Sight & Sound, Film Comment, The Village Voice, and The New Yorker.

Career

Dargis began her professional writing in the 1990s contributing to publications including Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Slate, Time Out New York, and Film Comment while cultivating editorial and programming roles with organizations linked to film presentation and scholarship such as Film Society of Lincoln Center and various film festivals. She joined The New York Times as a film critic and later became chief film critic, collaborating with colleagues who covered cinema and culture across platforms, including critics affiliated with Roger Ebert, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. Over decades she has reviewed films at major film festivals like the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Telluride Film Festival, interviewing filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Kathryn Bigelow, Bong Joon-ho, and Pedro Almodóvar.

Film criticism and style

Dargis's critical style combines evaluative judgment with historical framing, interweaving references to auteurs, movements, and canonical works including Fritz Lang, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Yasujiro Ozu, and John Ford. She frequently situates contemporary films in relation to traditions exemplified by the French New Wave, Italian Neorealism, German Expressionism, and Japanese cinema, while discussing performances by actors linked to Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett, and Robert De Niro. Dargis employs comparative analysis invoking critics and scholars from Andrew Sarris to Pauline Kael and institutions like National Film Registry and American Film Institute to articulate cinematic value, and she often engages with issues raised by festivals, distribution companies such as A24, Focus Features, and Miramax, and studios including Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Universal Pictures.

Major works and publications

In addition to her reviews, Dargis has authored essays and long-form pieces examining film history, genre studies, and auteurism, publishing in outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and Film Comment. Her portfolio includes critical surveys addressing the legacies of filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Pedro Almodóvar, Wong Kar-wai, and Chantal Akerman, and thematic pieces on subjects ranging from film noir and documentary film to contemporary debates around streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Hulu. Dargis has contributed to anthologies and catalogues produced by institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, British Film Institute, and festival retrospectives at Cannes Film Festival, while her reviews have been reprinted in collections alongside critics associated with Sight & Sound and Cahiers du Cinéma.

Awards and recognition

Throughout her career, Dargis has received recognition from journalistic and cinematic bodies, appearing on juries and participating in panels organized by Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week, and academic conferences at institutions like University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University. Her work has been cited by organizations such as the National Society of Film Critics, British Film Institute, and International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), and she has been honored in lists compiling influential cultural critics alongside peers from The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian.

Personal life and views

Dargis's personal life has informed her perspectives on culture, immigration, gender, and representation; she has written about topics connected to identity and diversity in cinema, referencing figures and movements including #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, feminist film theory, and filmmakers such as Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Greta Gerwig, and Chloé Zhao. She has participated in public conversations with academics and practitioners from New York University, Columbia University, and Princeton University, and continues to shape public understanding of film through criticism that dialogues with filmmakers, festivals, archives, and cultural institutions.

Category:American film critics Category:Women film critics