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After Dominick
And then the fall: a shattering divorce; the familiar downward spiral of drinking and drugs; a dropped remark at a party that, in time-honored Hollywood style, resulted in his never eating lunch in that town again. Dunne’s exile took him to the Oregon woods to rediscover a self he had failed to discover in the first place. Humbled and penniless, he began to write. And did he have stories to tell. The novels about the rich and famous would place him once again among them. The Vanity Fair articles in which he vengefully finds privileged murderers guilty until proven innocent (and innocent not even then) would maintain him in the spotlight he so adored.
And this is perhaps the movie’s greatest strength—its unvarnished portrayal of Dunne’s yearning for renown. That it stems from an engrained sense of unworthiness and shame is something that Dunne is winningly eager to acknowledge. But acknowledgment brings him no closer to relief. Like so many of the stars whose comradeship he always sought, and whose misdeeds he now so furiously condemns, Dunne harbors a hunger for recognition that can never be sated. What’s most remarkable about him, and about this film, is that he makes that naked quest for adulation so sympathetic.
For more information and to buy the DVD, see www.DominickDunne.net
J. J. Berzelius (1779-1848) was one of the fathers of modern chemistry, having worked out the technique of chemical formula notation. He was also the person who first identified silicon, selenium, thorium, and serium.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
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Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
I think Dominque Dunne definately deserves the time. I would like to see a full fledged movie made in Hollywood's finest style... his story would definately stand up well beside the material that is presently out there.
I saw this film at the Hamptons Film Festival a couple of weeks back and it's awesome - I think it's an independent film but it is quality. Check out www.dominickdunne.net
He is an interesting figure.
This is simply brilliant - an awesomely honest profile of one of the most talented writers we have. Dominick Dunne is a modern master of fiction and, as a journalist, a courageous teller of truths, even about himself.
I have been a fan of Dominique Dunne since 1982, when I was 14 and saw 'Poltergeist' for the first time. I was watching the news the night her death was reported and I've never forgotten her. As a result, I also became a fan of her father and brother. Her father is amazing man who used his tragedy for the good of others. I would love to see a film made about Dominique's murder. She definitely would have been a big star today, had she lived.
Dear Nikki,
Would you kindly remind your readers, and fans of Dominick Dunne, that they can leave their best wishes for him at www.DominicksDiary.com?
His latest operation, (had two, almost in a row), was a beaut.
Dominick Dunne's column in Vanity Fair was always my main reason for buying it. His first-hand observations were often astute, and dared to go where no one else would. Even when he reported rumour and speculation, he made it clear that those allegations were unproven, and portrayed a clearer picture of the environment of his story, enhancing the reader's understanding of the substantiated facts. He's right: a lot of rich people get away with a lot of crimes. By making that so clear, he advocated for the poor people who suffer injustice. Dominick, you Dunne good.
Dominick Dunne was my idea of a great writer - clear, simple, riveting and to the point. What is it with all the literary snobs putting him down? Is it envy?
In the words of Inspector Maigret "Simplicity is genius".
I never really "got" Mr. Dunne.
Being somewhat adverse to this culture of name dropping, social elites, and the "it's who you know, not what you know," mentality. I never really cozied to his style of writing. He was entirely self-promoting:
"My father was an EXTREMELY succesful surgeon," or endlessly naming the ivy league colleges he and his siblings attended. I never really cared about who he lunched with and the gossip he garnered from those lunches or the circles he so proudly traveled in that he so loved to dish about. In the grand scheme of things, who cares? Given the world's problems, the things he cared about were trivial.
I think his self-promotion came from a deep feeling of insecurity from having been raised Irish-Catholic in a WASP community where he grew up. He wanted entre into a circle he felt deeply left out of as a child. Thus he was always proving himself worthy of the world he clawed his way into.
He's from the old school of class distinction the New York social lists, the gilded age era of "who's who."
I found his writing to be under punctuated with run on sentences and no real point to his conclusions. When writing about a soul-less group of self-promoters and celebrities, what, really, could be the meaningful conclusion? What do we really garner from his writings? What perceptive, intriguing lessons are there to be mined from the pointless people he wrote about?
I'll miss you Mr. Dunne for your consistent, engaging and clear headed reporting.
Thank you.
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