From Tzivi’s September ’12 Spotlight:
Way back in February, communicating my concerns about Kenneth Lonergan’s new film Margaret, I wrote: “Even giving Lonergan the benefit of the doubt and assuming much was lost in the editing process [from the director’s cut down to the much shorter theatrical version], rarely have I seen such despicable caricatures of Jewish women on screen.”
Margaret is now available as a twin set: the first disc is a Blu-Ray called “Theatrical Version” with a 150 minute runtime, and the second disc is a DVD called “Extended Cut” with a 186 minute runtime.
I still don’t understand all the hype about this film, but if you decide to watch it then I definitely recommend you invest your time in the full “Extended Cut.” Some vital connective tissue was missing in the “Theatrical Version” I saw first, and once restored, multiple plot elements make a lot more sense, and the narrative as a whole unfolds as a much more sympathetic mother/daughter story.
Anna Paquin with Matt Damon in Margaret.
