I love Patricia Highsmith's work so much. It's almost criminal to think that, at least when I was growing up, she wasn't taught at all in school. Always read the Highsmith book before seeing the movie based on it. As highly regarded as Strangers on a Train and Carol are, neither has one-tenth the extraordinary complexity and moral ambiguity of Highsmith's writing (nor, with the exception of Blanchett's Carol, do any of its characters).
Thus any documentary about this magnificent author is going to be of some interest. But by focusing so relentlessly on Highsmith's relationships with women, the film conveys little of why we should care about Highsmith at all. There is little about her professional life -- relationships with editors, failures, sales volumes, etc., let alone any serious examination of her work.
So for the devoted Highsmith fan the movie is worth watching but nevertheless a disappointment.
Thus any documentary about this magnificent author is going to be of some interest. But by focusing so relentlessly on Highsmith's relationships with women, the film conveys little of why we should care about Highsmith at all. There is little about her professional life -- relationships with editors, failures, sales volumes, etc., let alone any serious examination of her work.
So for the devoted Highsmith fan the movie is worth watching but nevertheless a disappointment.