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Mainly About Lindsay Anderson by Gavin Lambert; Alfred A. Knopf; 368 pages; $29.95. 
Lindsay Anderson (1923-94) was one of Britain's most
influential movie and theater directors. Though he is not well-known this
side of the Atlantic, Anderson revolutionized British cinema with such
classics as If..., O Lucky Man!, and Britannia Hospital. As a stage
director, Anderson was even more accomplished, especially when he
collaborated with writer David Storey. Lindsay Anderson was also an
accomplished film critic and author.
Writer Gavin Lambert met Lindsay Anderson in 1939, when they were both students at Cheltenham College, and the two remained friends until Anderson's death. Though both Lambert and Anderson were artistic, rebellious and gay, their differences often outweighed their similarities. Eventually (1956) Lambert would move to America, where he became an established writer of both fiction and nonfiction. Anderson, on the other hand, stayed in his native England, to its frequent annoyance and eventual pride. Still, as Lambert recalls, "It was the differences that kept us close . . . and the differences have helped me to see him (and perhaps myself) more closely." Anderson and Lambert continued to correspond, and "became each other's first port of call in California and London." Mainly About Lindsay Anderson is both more and less than a biography of Lindsay Anderson. Though it covers Anderson from cradle to grave, it does so mainly through the eyes of a biographer who was also a friend. "This book is ... a dual portrait . . . Lindsay and I knew each other for fifty-five years, and interacted far more closely. As contemporaries we lived parallel lives, sharing a past that determined our futures in many ways, and, after I moved to Los Angeles, a continuous present." Lambert is obviously fond of his friend, though he is quick to recognize his faults. These are most evident in Anderson's often-quoted diaries, which he kept from 1942 to 1992 and which "reflects all Lindsay's negatives and few of his positives." Finally, Mainly About Lindsay Anderson is all about Gavin Lambert.
There must have been a lot of good in a man who could inspire such loyal friendships. In his long and illustrious career, Gavin Lambert has written about the stage and screen in both fiction and non-fiction, and has illuminated the lives of such luminaries as Alla Nazimova and George Cukor. In writing Mainly About Lindsay Anderson, Gavin Lambert, celebrated an old friend who was also a great talent, and incidentally did him a unique favor. If nothing else, Mainly About Lindsay Anderson should revive interest in the films and books and plays of this misunderstood and unfairly obscure genius. Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer who lives in South Florida with his domestic partner. He can be reached at jessemonteagudo@aol.com |
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