A note from Sheila....

As I faced the question of what virtues, if any, there are to having a woman film critic, it occurred to me that I have my nose far too close to the page to give a nice, ringing answer. So I called on a friend, critic/essayist/writer Claire Dederer, whom I met years ago through her bracing film reviews here in Seattle; now her essays and book reviews appear regularly in the New York Times. These were her thoughts:

"Because movie going is - or can be - an incredibly emotional experience, I think the best critics are emotionally fearless. They take stock of their responses in a powerful, emotional way. This taking stock is very much the way women interact, it's something we're good at. At the same time, to write that stuff down, and to put it out in public, is different for a woman than a man; I'd even say riskier, since if we do respond emotionally we run the risk of being perceived as less than serious, less than professional or less than intellectual, not a risk a man necessarily runs. So there's a charge or excitement to a woman's honest responses that might not be there in a man's response." I knew I couldn't say that myself. . .but without ascribing fearlessness to my work, I know those risks she describes, by heart."