Love, Marilyn
Love, Marilyn
NR | 18 October 2013 (USA)
Love, Marilyn Trailers

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Reviews
Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
dannib89 I love Marilyn and this documentary was really great at showing more of her that I haven't seen before and things I really didn't know about her.The one thing that I hated (which is why I gave it an 8/10) is the awful readings by all these actors. They did a horrible job and all overacted and exaggerated all her diary readings. For me that ruined the movie and it would have been awesome with just a unknown backperson reading as Marilyn.The only ones who I thought did a good job was Lindsey Lohan and Elizabeth Banks, and that's because they just acted naturally.But I just found myself getting confused about if it was them talking or them reading as Marilyn.Overall though, I loved the new insight into Marilyns life and the hurtful ending to her life.
Scarecrow-88 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.
mpurvismattp When I saw this documentary was on HBO I tuned in and wanted to see what it was all about, I wasn't that impressed. The letters straight from Marilyn's thoughts were interesting and heartfelt but having them read by Hollywooace actors just didn't work that well In my opinion. When SOME of these A listers read from the aforementioned letters they seemed like they themselves were making it all about them and not Marilyn at all. The lines from the letters were often over dramatized and poorly executed and would have been more effective had they just come from an unseen source. Overall this film seemed like it made everyone else out to be the bad guy when it came to Marilyn's unhappiness and misfortune and maybe that was the case, who can say. Although when Marilyn didn't know her lines and often didn't show up to the set for a variety of reasons I'm sure that it could wear on a director or producer who was probably under the gun to finish the picture as it is. Although Marilyn was often trouble on the set her performances on the big screen were always pure, genuine and special but the film made her out to be a troubled pawn in the chess game of Hollywood life and to me the film could have been more objective at times. Overall this is not a bad film (especially if you love Marilyn) but nothing to write home about, pun intended.
Liss (lvlss) Since Marilyn Monroe is one of my idols, I had to watch this documentary. I knew a lot about her already since she has been such a big part of my life but I was excited to see and hear Marilyn's own voice come to life in such a unique way. The movie takes you through the ups and downs of her life with commentary from great talents and other people in her life such as Milton Greene's widow, Amy Greene, friends and other actors/directors such as Jane Russell and Billy Wilder. I found myself crying throughout the whole documentary because we all know Marilyn's life was ended tragically but yet, everyone still sees her as just a sex symbol when really, that was the farthest from her real personality. Love, Marilyn takes you inside her mind by talents of this new era and it is thoroughly enjoyable.