Unsurprisingly, much of «Life Itself» is given
over to Ebert's democratizing and popularizing impact on the world of film
criticism, with judiciously chosen clips («Bonnie and Clyde,» «
Cries and Whispers,» «Raging Bull») and excerpts from those same films» respective reviews used to show how Ebert combined his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema with an accessible, plainspoken writing style that could be understood by anybody.