The 2017 Netflix documentary “Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold,” explores the life of the critically acclaimed writer and journalist, mirroring the impactful social and existential commentary found in her stories and essays.

In this work, Didion brings viewers through her mindset as a young journalist at Vogue magazine, past her first novel and through the events in the U.S. that would leave an everlasting existential overtone in many of her works.

She notes that even as a child, she had a predilection for the extreme in her short stories. This fascination drove her works, even in her first big piece at Vogue, to ask challenging questions and face uncomfortable truths as well as report on society-changing events in the ‘60s.

As she watched her world around her change in the ‘60s, Didion reported on jaw dropping, difficult material and confronted these feelings of disillusion — the breakdown of American society — in her work without allowing it to diminish her enjoyment of life or the way in which she carried herself.

In the film, Didion says that while reporting in California, she saw a 5-year-old child on drugs. Her reaction was that it was like gold, because that was the type of extreme kind of story they were looking for at the time. While this assertion may at first seem distant, it shows the ability for Didion to not only separate her work and personal agenda, but to look at the happenings of the world and use them as an opportunity to question and understand.

Throughout the film, audiences get to understand this famed author on a deeper level, cultivating an appreciation for her work which might not have previously existed. Viewers hear her story from the beginning, from when she started writing at five years old to the time of filming. Because of this, we get background and a more well-rounded understanding of her thoughts and beliefs surrounding existence and humanity as a whole, which she explores in her longer works.

The film’s title is a nod to Didion’s collection of essays entitled “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” which derives its name from W.B. Yeats’ W.B Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming.” A line in the poem states “the centre cannot hold,” however the film’s subtitle “The Center Will Not Hold,” attributes a deeper lack of agency from humanity. From Yeats’ perspective, it’s simply the way of the world to fall into chaos, but for Didion, she’s seeing it through the lens that bears witness to the deteriorating American populous—it is a choice that our center will not hold.

The film, which is directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne, uses family photographs, most of which are in black and white even into the wedding of her daughter in 2003 to invoke a sense of nostalgia. Not only are they showcasing their family photos, but are attempting to draw viewers into the experience and journey of her life.

Like many documentaries, this film uses voice-over narration of Didion speaking or reading from her own work. By allowing Didion to use her own previously printed commentary, viewers get a more present sense of the emotions and thoughts going through Didion and the rest of society’s mind.

These small twists on classic documentary techniques allow for a work that continues the conversation surrounding Didion’s themes of unsettling existential and social chaos. The film creates an intricately involved experience of Didion’s life that leaves viewers both appreciating the work she’s already produced, as well as questioning and examining their own beliefs and lives.