Everything Is Copy

Jacob Bernstein's 2015 documentary is about the writer and director Nora Ephron, made by her son. The title comes from the principle she took from her mother: everything is copy. Ephron applied it as far as her own divorce and turned her life into writing. The documentary's real question is a contradiction: why did a woman who told everything hide her illness for six years, even from those closest to her. Bernstein asks this as curiosity rather than accusation and does not force an answer. Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and her sisters speak. Having the son narrate gives the film warmth while also limiting its critical distance. Who it's for: viewers interested in American film and journalism history and portraits of writers. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a biography at a distance, or avoiding subjects of illness and death.