Love Marilyn (15.)
Directed by Liz Garbus.
Featuring Marisa Tomei, Uma Thurman, Ben Foster, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Ehle and Evan Rachel Wood. 107 mins
Another film about Marilyn; the story of a tragic figure who desperately wanted to be taken seriously as an actress, told in a film which illustrates just what a shallow worthless pursuit acting can be.
At the start we are told that over a thousand books have been written about Monroe. This though promises a new angle, access to her secret journals and diaries. So alongside the usual film clips, interviews and photos you would expect of a documentary, you get scenes where various actresses appear on screen, before a backdrop of Marilyn’s scribblings, to emote her inner thoughts. But as everybody has a book on Marilyn it doesn’t stop there: Ben Foster reads from Norman Mailer, Adrien Brody does Capote, Oliver Platt - Billy Wilder, Jeremy Piven - Elia Kazan, etc. Even her first acting coach and her last psychiatrist have books on her which get duly voiced by Janet McTeer and F. Murray Abraham.
Marilyn herself is interpreted by Marisa Tomei, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Ehle (who looks uncanny like Meryl Streep’s daughter), Evan Rachel Wood, Viola Davis, Lindsay Lohan, Glenn Close, Lili Taylor and Ellen Burstyn. All of these bits are close to unbearable because each of them is desperate to do their reading that bit better than everyone else so each performer thinks only in terms of what they can bring to their line reading, rather than just reading the line. Think not what you can do for Marilyn but what Marilyn can do for you. The ones who move about while doing it (Marisa Tomei in particular) are the worst.
Aside from that though, this is thorough and engrossing film. Given the 1000 books on her I doubt there anything genuinely new here but for those with only a passing interest it does flesh out the story rather well. It’s the sad old story, the person who is great at being a movie star but who tragically and foolishly yearns to be taken seriously as an actor. And Marilyn’s notes and writings are actually quite impressive and creative, as well as offering considerable insight.
Arthur Miller’s reputation gets a fearful trashing and so, possibly inadvertently, does method acting coach Lee Strasberg’s. The scenes in the mid-fifties when Marilyn joins up with his Actor’s Studio in New York make the place seem like a creepy little cult, with Strasberg ranting at his students and digging voyeuristically into their past and their deepest fears. Watching this you can see why Scientology is so popular with movie stars; it is just filling the gap.
Directed by Liz Garbus.
Featuring Marisa Tomei, Uma Thurman, Ben Foster, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Ehle and Evan Rachel Wood. 107 mins
Another film about Marilyn; the story of a tragic figure who desperately wanted to be taken seriously as an actress, told in a film which illustrates just what a shallow worthless pursuit acting can be.
At the start we are told that over a thousand books have been written about Monroe. This though promises a new angle, access to her secret journals and diaries. So alongside the usual film clips, interviews and photos you would expect of a documentary, you get scenes where various actresses appear on screen, before a backdrop of Marilyn’s scribblings, to emote her inner thoughts. But as everybody has a book on Marilyn it doesn’t stop there: Ben Foster reads from Norman Mailer, Adrien Brody does Capote, Oliver Platt - Billy Wilder, Jeremy Piven - Elia Kazan, etc. Even her first acting coach and her last psychiatrist have books on her which get duly voiced by Janet McTeer and F. Murray Abraham.
Marilyn herself is interpreted by Marisa Tomei, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Ehle (who looks uncanny like Meryl Streep’s daughter), Evan Rachel Wood, Viola Davis, Lindsay Lohan, Glenn Close, Lili Taylor and Ellen Burstyn. All of these bits are close to unbearable because each of them is desperate to do their reading that bit better than everyone else so each performer thinks only in terms of what they can bring to their line reading, rather than just reading the line. Think not what you can do for Marilyn but what Marilyn can do for you. The ones who move about while doing it (Marisa Tomei in particular) are the worst.
Aside from that though, this is thorough and engrossing film. Given the 1000 books on her I doubt there anything genuinely new here but for those with only a passing interest it does flesh out the story rather well. It’s the sad old story, the person who is great at being a movie star but who tragically and foolishly yearns to be taken seriously as an actor. And Marilyn’s notes and writings are actually quite impressive and creative, as well as offering considerable insight.
Arthur Miller’s reputation gets a fearful trashing and so, possibly inadvertently, does method acting coach Lee Strasberg’s. The scenes in the mid-fifties when Marilyn joins up with his Actor’s Studio in New York make the place seem like a creepy little cult, with Strasberg ranting at his students and digging voyeuristically into their past and their deepest fears. Watching this you can see why Scientology is so popular with movie stars; it is just filling the gap.
