Hard to Watch

by Matthew Strohl

We live in a true golden age for movies and television. With the advent of streaming services and video-on-demand, we no longer even need to go to a library or video store to access a vast store of treasures. For just a few bucks a month, we're able to pipe solid gold directly into our living classic cinema from all periods of Hollywood history, inventive television series from all across the world, and audacious new works that expand the possibilities of modern film. Yet, given the chance, most of us barely scratch the surface of what's available. And this makes a certain kind of sense. At the end of hard day, would you rather watch Ingmar Bergman's five-hour family drama Fanny and Alexander, or queue up another episode of The Office? Nonetheless, as Matthew Strohl explains in this witty and engaging book, we're doing ourselves a disservice by overlooking so-called "difficult" movies and TV. Hard to Watch is a joyous celebration of works that might seem boring, pretentious, or offensive at first glance but that offer their own distinctive pleasures when we give ourselves over to them. Writing with infectious enthusiasm—and a total lack of condescension—Strohl covers everything from the films of directors like Terence Malick, Andrei Tarkovsky, and David Lynch to such disreputable works as the Saw movies and I Spit on Your Grave, evocatively showing why they're worth the time to engage with, and how to get the most out of them. Whether you're a film buff looking to up your game or just someone who's bored with Netflix, Hard to Watch is a brisk and accessibly guide to expanding your horizons.

Genres: Film

216 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book last year right after reading Claire Bishop's Disordered Attention, and I was moved to write a review of both books, which is now out:

https://mid-theory.com/2025/09/11/dis...

Here's an excerpt on Strohl:

But what about works that demand more than a “relaxed distribution of focus,” work that we want to give more of ourselves to? Matthew Strohl provides recommendations for how we can create distraction-free media niches that make giving our undivided attention to difficult art possible. In Hard to Watch, Strohl, a philosopher and voracious viewer (his Letterboxd account shows that he watched 90 movies in January 2025 alone), makes an argument for the value of prolonged, attentive engagement with “difficult” movies—those that are complex, opaque, long, or grotesque. Demonstrating the value of deep engagement, he meditates on ambiguous or seemingly inaccessible films, like Terrence Malick’s critically maligned late film Knight of Cups (2015), Alain Resnais’s elusive Muriel, or the Time of Return (1963), Julia Ducournau’s body-horror movie Titane (2021), and the provocative, slow cinema of Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielmann, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). Strohl’s expansive, enthusiastic interpretations of these movies is the central attraction of the book, but it is his practical tips for overcoming what he calls “weakness of will in the age of streaming” that puts his book in productive dialogue with Bishop’s endorsement of selective inattention.

[Ethan Karschnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enlightening as his last book, but this still provides good avenues of thought. I especially appreciated his views on immediate accessibility of large swaths of films is not necessarily a good thing, and how deeply anti-intellectualism (specifically in regards to art analysis) has rotted our culture in the last few decades.

[Dustin Wilson V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as informative as it is cinematically invigorating. I only hope the level of movie-watching excitement Strohl's writing has injected into my veins remains long enough to get me through the final 8 months of film school.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the title, hooked by the first sentence, and owned the book within minutes. This is a movie lover's book. For people who treasure TCM and the Criterion Channel, physical media and repertory theaters. It is full of wonderful insight on how to ignite (or re-ignite) an adventurous moviegoing spirit. Strohl addresses the challenges of attention and boredom in the streaming era, while also balancing the pros/cons of social media. It's the perfect recipe as one year ends and resolutions commence. It's very accessible and easy to read. A book that puts cinema first and the reader in the perfect mood for movies: in the dark at maximum volume.

[Curt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strohl makes the case for spending time and mental effort on difficult movies - and provides ideas about developing your cinephilia. Longer takes on Titane, Jeanne Dielman, Muriel or the Time of Return. Not a difficult book however!

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun reminder that art in cinema can and should be challenging in the same way some music, architecture, literature, dance and theater challenges audiences.