Stone Reader

A charming and ultimately quite profound documentary about writer-director Mark Moskowitz's search for an elusive one-book novelist, Stone Reader's deceptively lighthearted surface overlays a serious inquiry into the nature of creativity, the power of the written word, and sheer obsession. The narrative linchpin of the picture is Moskowitz's attempt to locate Dow Mossman, whose debut novel The Stones of Summer the filmmaker purchased in 1972 but only recently read (and fell in love with). Shocked to learn that Mossman never published anything else and simply disappeared, Moskowitz tries to track him down, interviewing teachers, critics, editors, and anyone else who might have a clue to the author's whereabouts. Although the denouement is all one could wish for (with a wonderful “gotcha” moment), it's the journey--as well as the digressions along the way and the engaging companionship of Moskowitz--that give Stone Reader its genuine emotional and intellectual richness. Both a great literary mystery and a lovely meditation on why books hold such amazing power and reading can be so blissful an activity, this tailor-made film for libraries is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this two-disc set include audio commentary by director Mark Moskowitz and author Leslie Fiedler, an “Other Books” section with nine segments including brief featurettes and booklists, an interview with book editor Betty Kelly (14 min.), 25 minutes of “Further Conversations,” the six-minute featurettes “Leslie Fiedler: More from Stone Reader” and “A.S. Byatt & Toni Morrison.” Additional extras include: “Leslie Fiedler: From Firing Line” (50 min.), the 29-minute featurette “Henry Roth: Connections Across Time,” a 20-minute Q&A with “Janet Maslin & Mark Moskowitz,” the 32-minute “What Happened Next” featurette, “Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival” (12 min.), 12 minutes of deleted scenes, a 13-minute “Writers Panel” segment with text bios about the six featured writers, the 10-minute short “First Story” by Cindy Stillwell, art and photo galleries, web resources, and trailers. Bottom line: an outstanding extras package for an excellent documentary.] (F. Swietek)