Love, Marilyn

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.

If Marilyn Monroe were alive today she'd be 90 years old.

Now 50 years after her death, this well-produced documentary takes yet another look at Marilyn Monroe, as a Hollywood legend, whose image still remains recognizable, even by today's younger generation.

And just like actor Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe's well-established screen-charisma still continues to endure while so many others of her generation have faded away into obscurity.

Through vintage film clips and countless stills (as well as contemporary celebrities (sometimes annoyingly) reciting passages from Monroe's personal diaries and letters), this fairly insightful documentary is certainly worth watching as it offers the viewer a surprisingly close-up look at all of the glamor and all of the tragedy that was, indeed, Marilyn Monroe (who died in 1962 from a barbiturate overdose).

Believe it, or not - Since her tragic death (at the age of 36) back in 1962 - Approximately 1000 books have been published on the life, the loves, the highs, and the lows of Marilyn Monroe.

To this very day, Marilyn Monroe's phenomenal, manufactured screen-charisma has endured like no other Hollywood actor's of her (or any other) generation ever has.

Through vintage footage, stills (as well as drawing on never-before-seen personal papers, diaries, and letters written by Monroe), this celebrity-documentary recaps Marilyn's life in a nutshell as contemporary actors discuss her prevailing appeal and recite (sometimes with too much embellishment) from her writings.

Competently directed by Liz Garbus, "Love, Marilyn" is, most certainly, well-worth a view to all, regardless of whether one is a die-hard Marilyn Monroe fan, or not.

While it's interesting after a fashion to hear these actors read her journals and try to make them come alive, sometimes too empathetically, it becomes repetitive after a while. What could have added an extra needed dimension to this since they gathered such an amazing array of talent is to have these respected thespians, well except for Lohan, tell what value they found in Marilyn's work and what she meant to them. It would have added a more personal touch and since the actors involved are a broad spectrum of ages and techniques it would have shown how someone who was often dismissed as a lightweight had an impact on screen that bridged generations.

Still this is worth seeing, if for nothing else the clips of Marilyn. Only a few are different from the ones that are usually shown but as always she glows with an interior light.

Writing a review is not usual for me, but after watching this film I felt compelled to offer an alternative take to what another reviewer has described as "fairly insufferable". That is a personal view, not particularly objective, or even fair, in my opinion. I believe anyone who has seen any to all of Marliyn's movies will appreciate the insights this movie provides into her private life. I found the readings from her journals particularly enlightening. The content of these journals was deeply personal and well articulated, and the dramatic readings by various actors only amplified this fact. I've seen other documentaries about MM, but in my opinion this film does the best job of demonstrating the dichotomy between her movie persona and her personal life. It reveals that behind the sex symbol was a thoughtful, intelligent woman who worked hard for everything she got, and who was plagued throughout her life by psychological demons. It is an evenhanded approach, neither castigating her for her faults, nor deifying her for what she accomplished.

Highly recommended for all MM fans.