Kindred Spirit
On the late film director Robert Mulligan, who died early Saturday [Dec. 20, 2008] at 83:
Mulligan received a best director Oscar nomination in 1963 for “[To Kill a] Mockingbird”….
While some debated whether he had a discernible personal vision in his films, Mulligan was known for his casting and direction of children, including “[Up the Down] Staircase,” where he personally interviewed more than 500 New York high school students.
Sensing a kindred spirit, Francois Truffaut was a vocal champion, particularly cognizant of what he perceived as undue criticism of Mulligan’s work for lacking a particular “style.” Mulligan himself was dismissive of critics/cineaste talk: “I don’t know anything about ‘the Mulligan style,’ ” he told the Village Voice in 1978. “If you can find it, well, that’s your job.”
Thanks to desconvencida for a trailer of “The Man in the Moon” (1991), Reese Witherspoon’s first film and Mulligan’s last.
Mulligan also directed Natalie Wood in a personal favorite of mine, “Love with the Proper Stranger.”