While the news that John “Jim Halpert” Krasinski’s directorial debut, the indie Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, was bought by IFC Films (to be distributed in September) seems to be nothing too special in the world of every minute movie news updates, it deserves a few extra moments of recognition when considering the source material.
The film is based on a collection of short stories of the same name, written by David Foster Wallace.
Wallace was a prolific writer of both non-fiction and fiction, long and short, but always intelligent American letters who committed suicide in September 2008.
Read more about David Foster Wallace
It would probably be safe to say the man was far too smart for his own good, especially when considering the extreme lengths he went to in order to figure out the world via honest examination of both himself and the culture around him. It would also probably be safe to say Wallace’s best example of this impossible struggle is his 1,000+ page novel 1996 Infinite Jest, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written.
But then everything the guy wrote was great, including Brief Interviews, which featured 23 short stories intent on slicing open the worst elements of the male psyche and mulling over them all.
He covered and wrote on all manner of sins, whether it be politics, cruise lines or the possible cruelty of eating lobsters – and he wrote about all of them with well-studied comb, considering every opinion ad weighing the reader’s decision for him/her.
And while Krasinki’s film may not (how could it?) reach the depths of a Wallace-penned piece of writing, its mere existence ensures that a new batch of Wallace readers will be discovered, nearly a year after his tragic death. Be a part of that batch – you won’t be disappointed.