Plot Summary

Salinger (2013) Plot Summary Explained

Name: Salinger
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2013-09-06
Duration: 120 min
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, John Cusack

Release, runtime and language: 2013 · 120 min · English; #4,598 21
Directed by: Shane Salerno
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, John Cusack

This film explores the life and career of J.D. Salinger, the celebrated author of "The Catcher in the Rye." It examines his decision to withdraw from public life and the reasons behind his reclusiveness. Through interviews and insights, the documentary investigates the experiences and influences that shaped his writing and contributed to his lasting impact on literature.

Documentary Cast, crew & box office

On this page (5)

1 Where to watch
2 What happens: full plot
3 The book behind the movie
4 Movies like Salinger
5 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Salinger (2013)

Where can you watch Salinger? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla and Kanopy: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

Streaming availability powered by

Full plot summary

Salinger (2013) Plot Summary Coming Soon

We are working on the full plot summary and ending explained of Salinger (2013). Check back soon, or request it now to move it up the list.

Request this summary

The book behind the movie

Salinger

by David Shields, Shane Salerno

The biography is the official book produced from Shane Salerno's long Salinger documentary project rather than a preexisting narrative conventionally adapted for the screen. Film and book share interviews, archival research, photographs, letters, major biographical claims, and Salerno's organizing interests, but David Shields helped turn the much larger body of evidence into a seven-hundred-page oral history while editing produced a separate cinematic argument. INDIRECT_ADAPTATION records that the documentary grows from the same researched account and that the physical book is its substantive long-form counterpart, without falsely claiming that scenes were scripted from a finished volume released alongside the film.

Buy on Bookshop.org

Plot Explained is a Bookshop.org affiliate and may earn a commission.

Missing a movie? Tell us which one and we will write its summary, timeline and ending. Request a movie

If you liked this

Movies Like Salinger

Similar movies to Salinger: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

Browse all movie summaries

The Salt of the Earth

2015

In the Realms of the Unreal

2004

Derrida

2002

Jia Zhangke, A guy from Fenyang

2016

Rebel in the Rye

2017

Coming Through The Rye

2016

Subject

2023

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock

2024

Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of P.

2003

Le Filmeur

2005

Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow

2006

Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter’s Journey

1990

Every angle

Salinger (2013) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Salinger in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

Plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Catch up on any movie in minutes, save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private, always.

Learn more about the app