Great Movies
My friend and your favorite critic Matt Zoller Seitz (if you've got any sense or taste) has had a terrible year. I was tempted to make an essay that was all just about how incredible a friend and mentor he's been but I thought what might possibly be more meaningful is if I applied the things he's taught me and helped me see over the years through the lens of the cultural artifacts he's helped me see with more clarity.
This is my best impression of a Matt essay. He doesn't make them as much as he used to, so I figured someone's best impression might be an OK substitute til he has time. Matt taught me everything I know about video essays, and the best way I can think to say thank you is just to put it all to use. To keep on going. I had every intention of waiting until Alan Taylor's movie prequel to "The Sopranos"—the closest and nearest tie-in to David Chase's art (something I learned to truly love thanks to Matt), but with everything else in the world on hold I thought, "Why wait?" So here's a look at Chase's best work as a director, the highly underrated "Not Fade Away," inspired by a phone call I had with Matt a little while ago.
Keep going, everyone. I believe in you.
To watch the rest of Scout Tafoya's Unloved video essays, click here.
Scout Tafoya is a critic and filmmaker who writes for and edits the arts blog Apocalypse Now and directs both feature length and short films.
