The_revenge_of_Wallis_Simpson

Only worth seeing for the clips of her silent movies and for the fact that there are so few documentaries on Greta Garbo (the TCM one being far superior to this) but overall this is very much a mixed bag and overall a bit of a mess.

The lumpy paper mache masks used to depict Garbo's head are truly grotesque. A very strange stylistic device for a woman who was universally known as the Divine One and feted for her staggering beauty during her lifetime. Could they have not used still photographs? Ultimately, the repetitive use of these masks throughout becomes a big bore.

Secondly the narration by Noomi Rapace is dull and vocally she sounds far too modern to convey the thoughts of Garbo's in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

The use of 'An Investigator' in a blonde Garboesque wig also adds nothing. A Louella Parsons or Hedda Hopper or even a Walter Winchell type may have been a better choice at representing the Hollywood of the time. Little to no mention of the Garbo mania of the 1930s or of Garbo's private life.

The good things are very few and far between: Some taped phone conversations from Sam Green, who was Garbo's walker; Scott Reisfield, representing Garbo's family; Mimi Pollak's daughter giving her opinion; and an interview snippet of Marlene Dietrich humbly declaring that nobody was Garbo's competitor, implying that no one at that level of fame or success in the 1930s.

Sadly it's a shame this documentary doesn't do Garbo any justice at all.

This month's most hyped up program will probably resonate most with parents, but especially those who don't use the internet a great deal but are suspicious of it. The first two episodes are full of tension and suspense but then it all starts to get a bit woolly. This is one of those buzzword dramas (incel, masculinity, bullying, red pill, emojis, etc) but it never really gets to clarify the motive or the situation. The third and forth episode really drag out the drama. Characters and relationships that are established in the first two episodes never really go anywhere or serve any purpose apart from to make the story longer.

So many things made me feel uncomfortable about a movie with so few redeeming features; Cheating on one's partner mainly, but also I couldn't help wondering if. Romy's orgasms were as fake as her bad wig. There's quite a lot off about this movie, including a lot of tired ideas the director brought to this project, including reviving the 90s erotic drama genre, starring an actress approaching 60 but desperately trying to look and appear younger. That itself would have made an interesting premise for a film about female vanity and insecurity and the neurotic need to cling to youth, including an affair with a young lover. Despite the huge marketing campaign & manufactured hype, this is not a good movie... lack of subtlety, clumsy ideas about power dynamics, bad acting and bad wigs.