SOURCE: Brewer, Gay. “Studied Simplicity: David Mamet's On Directing Film.” Literature Film Quarterly 20, no. 2 (1992): 167-68.

In the following review, Brewer favorably assesses On Directing Film, contending that it provides insights on Mamet's filmmaking approach.

David Mamet has never wanted for confidence. With workmanlike application of his talent, he has succeeded as playwright, but also as poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. On Directing Film consists of revised lectures from a course Mamet taught at Columbia University. The preface apologizes for his scant experience behind the camera, only two films: “… I was the most dangerous thing around. I had unquestionably progressed beyond the neophyte stage but was not experienced enough to realize the extent of my ignorance” (xiii). However, Mamet's ideas on directing derive primarily from his more substantial work and study as a screenwriter. Much of the information offered on filmmaking is as useful to the aspiring author. Mamet keeps...