I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this and I am no huge Marilyn Monroe fan or anyone who has followed the thousand plus books, films, or articles on her or her career.
What we saw here was an incredibly bright talent and what appeared to be a sensitive and smart woman who was perhaps too sensitive for her own good.
I learned that she wanted to be a better actress. She worked hard to improve herself when she was first signed to the studio and then she studied with the famous Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg in NYC during the time of her contract dispute, a year, something I never knew. She battled with the studio for some control over her career and projects and she won. Had she lived, as she had just signed a new contract with the studio, who knows where her career might have gone. She was far more than what I thought.
Her marriages were also made of tragedy. Both men seemed to love her but seemed very controlling and Miller in particular seemed to consider her inferior to him. DiMaggio I felt seemed to adore her and want to take care of her, respected her, but hated the notoriety her fame brought and didn't want her to continue with her career. It's interesting he told her after her divorce how much he still loved her but if he were in her shoes, he would have divorced him also.
I didn't mind the other actors brought in to read her words, in some cases I thought it helped(Viola Davis, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Ehle, Marissa Tomei, F. Murray Abraham). Others like Uma Thurman, Glenn Close, Ellen Burstyn were kind of a waste. But the high point was seeing the old footage, some of the old clips of interviews of people like Jack Lemmon, Arthur Miller, Billy Wilder, and company. I think having Amy Greene(?) her old friend part of this really added a lot.
Definitely worth a look even if you're not a Marilyn Monroe fanatic.
What we saw here was an incredibly bright talent and what appeared to be a sensitive and smart woman who was perhaps too sensitive for her own good.
I learned that she wanted to be a better actress. She worked hard to improve herself when she was first signed to the studio and then she studied with the famous Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg in NYC during the time of her contract dispute, a year, something I never knew. She battled with the studio for some control over her career and projects and she won. Had she lived, as she had just signed a new contract with the studio, who knows where her career might have gone. She was far more than what I thought.
Her marriages were also made of tragedy. Both men seemed to love her but seemed very controlling and Miller in particular seemed to consider her inferior to him. DiMaggio I felt seemed to adore her and want to take care of her, respected her, but hated the notoriety her fame brought and didn't want her to continue with her career. It's interesting he told her after her divorce how much he still loved her but if he were in her shoes, he would have divorced him also.
I didn't mind the other actors brought in to read her words, in some cases I thought it helped(Viola Davis, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Ehle, Marissa Tomei, F. Murray Abraham). Others like Uma Thurman, Glenn Close, Ellen Burstyn were kind of a waste. But the high point was seeing the old footage, some of the old clips of interviews of people like Jack Lemmon, Arthur Miller, Billy Wilder, and company. I think having Amy Greene(?) her old friend part of this really added a lot.
Definitely worth a look even if you're not a Marilyn Monroe fanatic.