“Here is an example of that rare book in Film Studies: one that dares to bring the academic rigor of the film scholar into contact with the adoring pleasure of the cinephile. In Shots to the Heart, Steven Rybin eloquently and convincingly—indeed lovingly—explores the elusive, ineffable quality of what is so often simply (dis)regarded as the ‘actor’s magic’.”—Daniel Varndell, Professor, English Literature, University of Winchester, UK.

“This is a meditation on not only the love of performance but also the love of writing about cinema itself. Rybin interweaves personal reflection and incisive analysis in such a way that the reader is compelled, in turn, to retrace their own relationship to beloved moments in film. Eloquent and thought-provoking.”—Ana Salzberg, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and Visual Culture, University of Dundee, Scotland.

“A little book with big ideas and a wonderful addition to scholarship on performance, auteur theory, and star studies.”—MatthewLeggatt, Lecturer, Department of English, Creative Writing and American Studies, University of Winchester, UK.

“Shots to the Heart: For the Love of Film Performance engages with some of the leading authorities on film performance and cinephilia in a lucid manner. Steven Rybin’s love for writing shines through every page, and the articulation of a love of film performance as a way of moving across a film is particularly compelling, enacted as it is through the style of writing.”—Professor Sarah Cooper, Film Studies Department, King’s College London, UK.

“Taking a novel approach to the study of film performance, Rybin’s Shots to the Heart theorizes audiences’ emotional responses to performers. Rybin eloquently articulates what it means to ‘fall for’ an actor and provides a range of case studies to illustrate the special affection that film performances can instill in viewers.”—Jennifer O’Meara, Assistant Professor in Film Studies at Trinity College, USA.