Review of Listen to Me Marlon (2015) by Jenna I — 30 Jul 2015

A fantastic documentary that really goes where others haven't before- the film that Marlon Brando was directing for himself in private, made public. What really struck me the most was just how full of a portrait this film was of sadness and insecurity. You never pity Marlon, you just empathize with him- because that's what he did, he made a living empathizing with you. It's an incomplete portrait though of course, because despite what we want to think, our own thoughts don't actually make a whole, but our actions and even how others perceive us carry more weight than we might want to admit. In that vein, I wish the movie had spliced more of what others thought of him and his actions in with how he felt. He was difficult, he was volatile, and he obviously did fail his children- though that last one seems like it might have been more about genetics than nurture.

All in all, fascinating portrait of a complex and beautifully flawed person.