Directed by: Lizzie Gottlieb
Starring: Robert Caro, Robert Gottlieb, Ina Caro, Maria Tucci
Runtime: 110 minutes
‘Turn Every Page’: This documentary is a big-screen page-turner
“50 years. 5 books. 4,888 pages.”
Robert Caro wrote five books, and Robert Gottlieb edited them, works that helped uncover the inner workings of American government, the invisible machinery to John and Jane Q. Citizen, and these legislative levers – constructed from backroom dealings and human ambition – forged massive changes to infrastructure and everyday ways of life for millions and millions of the aforementioned residents.
Power is the throughline subject of Caro and Gottlieb’s labors of love. By definition, the word means “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.”
Specifically, Caro wrote about two individuals who did just that: New York bureaucrat Robert Moses and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, one hardback account was about the former, and four (yes, four!) chronicled the latter.
Caro, 87, and Gottlieb, 91, have not retired and are working together on a sixth book.
When two titans of the literary world join forces on five landmark efforts over several decades, how do you capture their exclusive working relationship in just a 110-minute documentary?
Don’t we need a 10-hour series?
Well, director Lizzie Gottlieb didn’t, as she offers an absorbing look at Robert and Robert through several interviews of prominent writers, publishers, a household-name movie actor, a former late-night talk show host, and a former U.S. President. Of course, Lizzie cast several candid interviews with The Bobs, and yes, being Gottlieb’s daughter didn’t hurt her chances.
Editing must run in the Gottlieb family because Lizzie’s doc is a most gratifying big-screen affair that lands under two hours, and her film left this critic ready for another eight hours of insight. Note that editors Molly Bernstein and Kristen Nutile also lent helping hands in this fulfilling mission.
Robert and Robert, their supportive wives Ina Caro and Maria Tucci, and Lizzie dive frankly into the men’s childhoods, as both faced obstacles, ones that were, unfortunately, all too common for the time. Ina and Maria are welcoming presences on-screen, and their relaxed, confident personas offer assurances that – during the last 60-plus and 50-plus years, respectively - love and patronage endure.
With rock-solid foundations in their adult personal lives, the Roberts have untethered freedom for work. This dynamic duo offers their secret to success, which entails good old-fashioned elbow grease.
Their impressive declarations for hard work are undeniable but also exhausting to the ear, as Caro labors for years and years to pen (and pencil and type (on a typewriter)) one book. During Caro’s storming and forming phases, Gottlieb is his champion, counselor, and ally. However, the editing process reignites the storming period as the two battle over Gottlieb’s red pen. Although, we don’t know if Robert actually uses that specific instrument, as they both, at one point during the movie, advocate the absolute need for a wooden pencil.
Old school in all its glory!
Caro’s methods for backing up his work and keeping an eccentric storage repository will give techies absolute fits, but Baby Boomers and Gen Xers will smile and nod with approval as that’s-how-we-did-it-back-in-the-day thoughts joyfully swing in our heads. Younger generations will have questions, like when they are faced with rotary telephones and physical copies of Encyclopedia Britannica at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. (For the record, Britannica is now online these days. Who knew?)
Back to the matter at hand, “Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” offers constant moments of wonderment and awe over Caro’s comprehensive, methodical steps to dig further than just about anyone to discover the truth. It’s all quite remarkable, as he set new standards for investigative journalism. Robert C. is a person who meticulously takes his time to gather the deepest and darkest facts.
Gottlieb is equally as thorough – like Bill Belichick studying a Sunday afternoon scouting report – but he works swiftly. He spent his life as a voracious reader, and Robert G. is a machine at his craft with a star-studded list of publishing credits to his name.
This isn’t a pairing of the immovable object versus the irresistible force. Together, The Roberts are unstoppable forces that collide, tangle, and wrestle but also partner to craft breakthrough, transformational, and previously unseen true stories that eventually rest in paper and binding.
Their goals are the same.
They want to make the best books possible, even though they may quarrel and quibble over cutting hundreds of pages from the final result or repeatedly dispute the values of a semicolon.
“Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb” is a movie especially made for English majors, journalists, history buffs, and book lovers. It’s also a doc tailored to anyone who hasn’t read one of Caro’s works.
As someone who watches 200-plus new movies a year and “can never find the time” for reading, this critic – absolutely - will carve out space on the 2023 calendar to read at least one Caro/Gottlieb collaboration. (Naturally, I’ll watch the movie again.)
It’s true…these men and this film leave page-turner impressions.
Jeff’s ranking
3.5/4 stars
