Joan Didion Documentary
New On Netflix: The Center Will Not Hold
Netflix‘s new documentary on author Joan Didion is a lovely window into the life of one of America’s most celebrated and beloved thinkers and observers of human behavior. Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold is directed by her nephew, actor Griffin Dunne. The tender documentary explores the exciting and often difficult times of her legendary career and her loving marriage to novelist John Gregory Dunne.
Every relationship has good and bad times, but the Didion/Dunne marriage ended in outright tragedy. In what is probably one of the saddest true stories of the literary world, Joan and John were dealing with the grave illness and hospitalization of their daughter, Quintana Roo, when Dunne suddenly died of an unexpected heart attack. Shortly thereafter, Quintana passed away as well.
In her 2005 book The Year of Magical Thinking, which won numerous awards, including the National Book Award, Joan wrote her account of her year of mourning after her husband’s death. In 2011, she released Blue Nights, recounting Quintana’s demise at age 39. It’s easy to lay pity on the frail-looking Didion as she talks of the hardship she faced in her life, but deep inside that tiny, fragile, 82-year-old body, there’s a smart, steely woman still thriving and creating. Her strength in the face of such bitter sorrow is why she’s so admired and revered by her fans and peers.
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold is available now on Netflix.
