Book Review: They Live; Deep Focus

Out of Soft Skull Press comes Deep Focus; a new series of pocket-sized books in which established authors go into detail analyzing some of their favorite underrated “B” movies that might other not otherwise be discussed at this length. The first film analyzed in the series is John Carpenter’s They Live by Jonathan Lethem (Gun with Occasional Music, Motherless Brooklyn).

The book mirrors the film as it unfolds scene by scene to examine pretty much everything about the movie. Lethem explores Carpenters auteur work with a fine tooth-comb looking at its anti-yuppie and anti-consumerism sociopolitical ideas, its Western motifs, its contradictions, and how it compares to other sci-fi B movies just to name a few. Lethem’s criticisms and analyses are intelligent, thought provoking, sometimes hilarious, and spot on. It’s obvious that he’s seen the film an absurd amount of times and has put a lot of thought into his work.

They Live is broken up into small mini chapters that follow the film by its time (16:40 Fake Church Conspirators, 41:04 Quip in a Bank, etc…), and are all meticulously dissected by Lethem. To me, this is part of what makes the book work so well. Every little detail in every scene is given some time and thought, and as such you can read little segments here or there while riding the train or waiting for a friend. It’s easy to dedicate small chunks of time while still making progress.

While it is obvious that Lethem has a lot of insight into Carpenter’s work and as a film critic in general, the amount of enjoyment you’ll get out of this book depends entirely on two things: 1.) Are you interested in film analyses? And 2.) Do you like They Live? If you answered yes to even one of these questions, I think you will be find Lethem’s They Live a quick, insightful, interesting, and often comical piece of writing. Death Wish and Heathers are the next two books in the Deep Focus series.