The Film Club

As a kid, I would have loved it if my dad said to me, “You can drop out of school as long as you watch 3 movies a week with me.” How cool would that have been! Being a typical teen, I thought I could have done fine without school. Through hard lessons in life, I realize now that I thought like a dumb-ass back then. But no one had to teach me that. Life taught me. That’s sort of the idea behind the book The Film Club. In this memoir, David Gilmour details what happens after he decides to let his son drop out of school, as long as he promised to watch 3 movies a week with him. The movies would all be chosen by Dad, and each one served a specific purpose in his son’s “life lessons”. As someone who seems like a walking film encyclopedia, David uses his knowledge to try and teach his son. David never came off in the book as trying to be a “cool” dad. He struggled with making the decision to let his teen quit school. In fact, he frequently wondered if he made a huge mistake. When you let your kid make the choice to drop out, you can’t help but wonder if you’re helping them ruin their life. I appreciated how open he was in the book about his doubts and fears. I can relate to that being a dad myself. And even if you’re not a dad, you can pick up nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. It’s an unconventional story that really makes you think about life.