Review of Tell Them Who You Are

Introduction

Haskell Wexler, 2-time Oscar winner, firebrand liberal and foul-mouthed octogenarian is profiled by his son, Mark, who attempts to show who his father is and what he has accomplished in this documentary. Using archive footage together with interviews with his friends and people he has worked with, Mark shows what his father has achieved in his career as a cinematographer and attempts to get to the bottom of their relationship.

Among those interviewed are Sidney Poitier, George Lucas and fellow liberal Jane Fonda who all add to the tapestry that forms Haskell Wexler.

Video

This documentary has been shot with many cameras and by several people, so depending on which camera a given scene has been filmed with determines the picture quality which is, by and large, very good.

There are no subtitles.

Audio

The Dolby Stereo surround does it`s job as this is a documentary and is entirely dialogue-based, so it would be unrealistic to expect a 5.1 surround mix which would have been completely redundant.

Features

Scene selections and a trailer, that`s it although a profile, making of or commentary would have been completely redundant.

Conclusion

Don`t worry if you`ve never heard of Haskell Wexler, I hadn`t and found `Tell Them Who You Are` to be an intriguing and touching portrait of a son providing a brief biography of his father whilst attempting to find out who his father really is. What`s important and what is core to this film is the relationship between the son and his father, an almost universal theme and one that is handled beautifully.

I was never quite sure whether Mark was getting to the bottom of who his father is as Haskell`s aggressive exterior may either be his real personality or a front to protect him and prevent Mark from seeing the real `him`. Either way, it is Haskell`s personality that is the star of the film as he states, in all seriousness, that he could have done a better job than the directors on the films he worked on and criticises his son`s filmmaking skills. A fine illustration of Haskell`s personality comes when he refuses to sign a release form until he has seen the finished film. Ultimately, Mark manages to get beyond his father`s coarse exterior and, in a beautiful scene when Haskell visits his ex-wife in an Alzheimer`s unit, you really see the soft side to Haskell.