Marilyn Monroe's letters (diary, memoirs, whatever you want to call them) are "performed" by various actors/actresses to us, documenting her feelings (also shown in background as a visual device to add a degree of dramatics to the actors studio performances of those who look at us and try to live the feelings of those they depict) at the time she lived.
From her beginnings as an actress to her "medicinal suicide", details about Marilyn's rise to an icon, her turbulent relations with 20th Century Fox, the general consensus that she was a ditz (or a really talented actress deserved of respect) flashing her marvelous figure which was responsible for capturing the lust of men (and disgust/jealousy of women) everywhere, the emotional/psychological problems always troubling her, complicated marriages and relationships to men, gaining notoriety and popularity through her intense sexuality, becoming a media celebrity of substantial popularity, and the mental downturn that left her an actress deemed unfit to hire, "Love, Marilyn" covers a lot of ground.
While I found all the actors and actresses (this approach felt a bit too pretentious for my tastes) a bit annoying, the material was fascinating (particularly when documents from directors such as Billy Wilder and George Cukor are read, Arthur Miller's interviewed from the past, Amy Greene's candidly shared details (because she knew, lived, and had intimate conversations with her)) because it shed light on how Marilyn was viewed by those that worked with her and provided insight into that enigma so emblazoned in stunning photographic beauty. I have considered myself a fan of "The Misfits" (1961) for years, but after watching this, knowing Miller wrote it, this documentary left me rather unsettled that a husband who claimed he loved his wife would populate the script with blatant disregard for her "image" and talent. I have always felt that the need to stigmatize Marilyn as all style and no substance couldn't be further from the truth there's real truth in "Bus Stop", if one is willing to see past just the allure and beauty. My personal favorite Marilyn Monroe film is "Niagra", mentioned a few times in the film (just throwing it out there)
What happened during her final film project (ironically titled "Something's Got To Give"), the pugnacious contempt from Laurence Olivier (during "The Prince and the Showgirl"), Billy Wilder and George Cukor's teeming anger at her misbehavior on set (it would be called Monroe acting a diva in the obsessive celebreality of today's pop culture), John Huston's misappropriation of studio funds (gambling them away) and how it allowed them to blame it on her (because her reputation had become so tarnished) regarding the budget on "The Misfits", Miller using Marilyn to escape the scrutiny of possible Communist ties during the McCarthy era, and the Playboy nude pictorial are all featured subjects in this documentary. I would prefer the typical narrative device/approach, with emphasis on the resources that dissect and explore this fascinating personality, this woman, this actress, this sexual icon, but "Love, Marilyn" gives actors/actresses a chance to interpret in performance how certain people felt through her and perhaps how she felt in those words on paper. What I found most fascinating was how Joe DiMaggio reacted to the hoopla behind the "blowing dress" that provided an essential lasting prominence to Marilyn's legacy and Marilyn's relationship to Lee Strasberg and his wife Paula (Paula would be her coach on set during filming to give her insight and be an inspiration). Particularly funny to me was how Jack Lemmon, in an interview about her during "Some Like it Hot", spoke of her Strasbergian method behavior during filming, as a rather loopy bit of unnecessary time wasted. "Love, Marilyn" should be of interest to Marilyn's cult and fanbase.
From her beginnings as an actress to her "medicinal suicide", details about Marilyn's rise to an icon, her turbulent relations with 20th Century Fox, the general consensus that she was a ditz (or a really talented actress deserved of respect) flashing her marvelous figure which was responsible for capturing the lust of men (and disgust/jealousy of women) everywhere, the emotional/psychological problems always troubling her, complicated marriages and relationships to men, gaining notoriety and popularity through her intense sexuality, becoming a media celebrity of substantial popularity, and the mental downturn that left her an actress deemed unfit to hire, "Love, Marilyn" covers a lot of ground.
While I found all the actors and actresses (this approach felt a bit too pretentious for my tastes) a bit annoying, the material was fascinating (particularly when documents from directors such as Billy Wilder and George Cukor are read, Arthur Miller's interviewed from the past, Amy Greene's candidly shared details (because she knew, lived, and had intimate conversations with her)) because it shed light on how Marilyn was viewed by those that worked with her and provided insight into that enigma so emblazoned in stunning photographic beauty. I have considered myself a fan of "The Misfits" (1961) for years, but after watching this, knowing Miller wrote it, this documentary left me rather unsettled that a husband who claimed he loved his wife would populate the script with blatant disregard for her "image" and talent. I have always felt that the need to stigmatize Marilyn as all style and no substance couldn't be further from the truth there's real truth in "Bus Stop", if one is willing to see past just the allure and beauty. My personal favorite Marilyn Monroe film is "Niagra", mentioned a few times in the film (just throwing it out there)
What happened during her final film project (ironically titled "Something's Got To Give"), the pugnacious contempt from Laurence Olivier (during "The Prince and the Showgirl"), Billy Wilder and George Cukor's teeming anger at her misbehavior on set (it would be called Monroe acting a diva in the obsessive celebreality of today's pop culture), John Huston's misappropriation of studio funds (gambling them away) and how it allowed them to blame it on her (because her reputation had become so tarnished) regarding the budget on "The Misfits", Miller using Marilyn to escape the scrutiny of possible Communist ties during the McCarthy era, and the Playboy nude pictorial are all featured subjects in this documentary. I would prefer the typical narrative device/approach, with emphasis on the resources that dissect and explore this fascinating personality, this woman, this actress, this sexual icon, but "Love, Marilyn" gives actors/actresses a chance to interpret in performance how certain people felt through her and perhaps how she felt in those words on paper. What I found most fascinating was how Joe DiMaggio reacted to the hoopla behind the "blowing dress" that provided an essential lasting prominence to Marilyn's legacy and Marilyn's relationship to Lee Strasberg and his wife Paula (Paula would be her coach on set during filming to give her insight and be an inspiration). Particularly funny to me was how Jack Lemmon, in an interview about her during "Some Like it Hot", spoke of her Strasbergian method behavior during filming, as a rather loopy bit of unnecessary time wasted. "Love, Marilyn" should be of interest to Marilyn's cult and fanbase.