Review: The Rise of Jordan Peterson

Jordan Peterson in “The Rise of Jordan Peterson.”

Dir. Patricia Marcoccia. 112 minutes.
4/5

Like so many excellent documentaries, filmmaker Patricia Marcoccia happened already to be on the scene when something remarkable occurred. “The Rise of Jordan Peterson” follows the trajectory of the titular public thinker — either a champion of individual freedom or the herald of a new fascism, depending on whom you ask. Peterson is a figure for our disunited age, at once a leper and a superstar, capable of selling 3 million books while also being denounced by The New York Times as a misogynist.

Marcoccia is even-handed, perhaps excessively so — we see first-hand both the naive admiration of Peterson’s young fans and the frothing rage of his critics, with little editorialization. A few priceless moments are captured, such as Peterson’s amused incredulity at being asked, for the first time, to pose for a fan selfie. Scenes of banter between Peterson and his wife Tammy are often illuminating, as she chides him for checking his YouTube analytics at the breakfast table. Here is the man, not the myth.

“The Rise of Jordan Peterson” is necessarily incomplete, as filming finished before Peterson vanished into a Russian rehab clinic under somewhat unclear circumstances. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent resource for anyone who wants to penetrate the mythology surrounding Peterson — assuming you don’t mind discarding your illusions along the way.

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