Quirke's effort is a victim of the format of BFI's series; it is impossible to give justice to a two hour "work of art" within 91 small pages. Those worthy ideas within this book rarely extend beyond a paragraph, and it is regrettable that editorial disdain was not asserted to eliminate some material in favour of the expansion of others. Promising subheadings ("absolution," "solipsism") precede disappointing material, but at least she does not resort too often to regurgitating the trivia repeated so many times in so many books and magazines.
.
Her journalistic background implies that she mistakes her annoying short sentences for style. Rather than a standardised referencing system, an informal two page "note on sources" is used. Although one may be used to a more precise bibliography, she never really offers any substantial quotations. A more substantial work that offered a variety of viewpoints would have been welcomed, though this criticism cannot be levied solely at Quirke since the series is meant to be personal.
All of the frames used from the film are reproduced in the correct aspect ratio and look almost as beautiful here as in the film itself. For a mainstream book, this is a reasonable account of the film's depth and will be most useful to students just beginning film studies rather than those seeking real critical analysis. Serious work which does sufficient justice to Jaws has yet to be published.