Critical Analysis of a Film Review

Halvorsen

Composition 201

Essay #1

Critical Analysis of a Film Review

For this essay you will locate a film review for a movie you recently saw. You will want to choose a

review from an influential or nationally recognized reviewer/organization (New York Times, Chicago Sun

Times, Time, etc.) or any reviewer listed under the “Top Critics” section of Rotten Tomatoes

(www.rottentomatoes.com). You will also want to choose a review that is somewhat substantial so that

you will have enough to write about. Whether you agree with the critic’s view of the film or not, is largely

irrelevant. Based on your reading of Chapter 8 “Analyzing Arguments” in the St. Martins Handbook,

analyze the review’s effectiveness according to the criteria that follow:

Identify any clues that give suggest/imply assumptions by the critic about his or her audience. Do the

critic’s assumptions seem logical considering the source where the review appears?

 Identify the claims about the overall quality or value of the film, reasons for these claims,

evidence to support these claims, and any qualifiers limiting the scope of these claims.

 Identify and evaluate any emotional, ethical or logical appeals and fallacies that the critic utilizes

to support the claims (including any headlines or images accompanying the review).

 Identify and evaluate any rhetorical strategies the critic uses to make his or her argument (vivid or

descriptive language, humor, sarcasm, etc.).

The above guideline seeks to 1) help you create an effective structure for your essay, and 2) provide a set

of criteria to help you investigate the form, content, and rhetorical strategies of an argument. By no means

need you consider only this structure or these criteria: they seek to help you not hinder you. Still, your

essay should not overlook these two requirements: 1) your essay must have a discernible structure (in

general, this means that it must include an argument and effectively organize evidence that supports this

argument), and 2) your essay must thoroughly explore the film review’s effectiveness as an argument.

Your essay should be 4-5 double-spaced pages (Times New Roman or Courier New font) and follow

MLA style. It also must incorporate at least two quotes (one brief quote and one long quote—see St.

Martin’s Handbook 232-236) from the review smoothly integrated into your analysis—passages that help

you illustrate or introduce or shape or support or extend your argument—and include a Works Cited page

(not included in the 4-5 page requirement). Please consult your syllabus for the due date of each of the

drafts.