“Coming Through The Rye” is a well-meant if tender-headed morsel of a young man’s road trip from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire in search of the elusive J. D. Salinger in a sketchily realized 1969. Writer-director James Sadwith captures some of the ruefulness of the still-unapproachable text of “Catcher in the Rye” in the romantic tussling between his wan leads, sixteen-year-old prep schooler Jamie Schwartz (Alex Wolff) and high schooler Deedee (Stefania Owen) as they seek the great silent writer’s permission to adapt his book. Still, not a word of the book appears, but Chris Cooper does, and his incarnation of Salinger is fine. 97m. (Ray Pride)
“Coming Through The Rye” opens Friday, November 25 at Siskel.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” in words and images will be published in Spring 2022.
Previews of that project on Twitter (twitter.com/chighostsigns) as well as photography on Instagram: instagram.com/raypride.
Twitter: twitter.com/RayPride
