Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper

It was a very candid look into her life. Well done. But gosh the whole family is a bit sad and cold. At the end of the film. Anderson said he was visiting his brother's grave for the first time since the funeral'. This had been almost 30 years. Why? Definite lack of closeness in this family. So sad.

Greetings again from the darkness. Rather than the usual biographic approach, this is quite a personal and intimate conversation piece as the "poor little rich girl", Gloria Vanderbilt, recollects her life of fame with her journalist son, Anderson Cooper. Expert documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus (Oscar nominated for What Happened Miss Simone, 2015, and The Farm: Angola, USA, 1999) delivers what amounts to video memoirs as Mr. Cooper guides his 91 year old mother down Memory Lane.

This is an HBO documentary, and it will have a theatrical run in addition to multiple showings on the cable behemoth. Some may view it as an ego piece … two persons of privilege reminiscing about their "tough" lives, but it's a stark reminder that no amount of money can prevent the heart from breaking, or the lasting effects of grief.

Gloria Vanderbilt turns out to be a relatively pragmatic lady who, with age and experience, has come to accept the unusual path her life has taken … from a basically parentless childhood, to being at the center of custody battle that created a national media frenzy, to four marriages (the first at age 17), to a personal and social life that bears mention of such names as Frank Sinatra, Richard Avedon, Charlie Chaplin, Truman Capote, Sidney Lumet and Errol Flynn. Along the way, she has been constantly involved with art … whether in the form of painting, writing, sculpting, acting – or designing the iconic jeans of the 1970's that bore her name.

She kicks off the film by quoting Faulkner: "The past isn't over, it's not ever over." It's the perfect beginning, as the hook here is that her son Anderson Cooper has spent a couple of years going through her storage units, and is now depending on her to fill in the historical life gaps created by her letters, photographs and paintings. Much of the discussion focuses on young Gloria's beloved nanny, as well as the custody case featuring Aunt Gertrude (who founded the Whitney Museum).

Hers may not be a life that altered the course of mankind, but now 92 year old Gloria Vanderbilt has experienced the highest highs and lowest lows, and is willing to discuss the fascinating specifics … thanks to the coaxing by her little boy.

(RATING: ☆☆☆☆ out of 5)

THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.

IN BRIEF: A well made documentary that has enough style and flair to hide a few deficiencies.

GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: A up-close look into the relationship of a well known mother and her equally famous son.

Newscaster Anderson Cooper produced this documentary as a means to connect more openly with his mother. Their atypical lives are on full display and while the film may want to express a candid view into the Vanderbilt family and their past, it does not go into much depth about Mr. Cooper's private life and sexuality, his mother's digressions, or her estrangement from one of her sons, Chris, from another marriage. Some areas are still taboo in this supposedly tell-all biography, but there is still plenty of footage and facts that remain fascinating and of historical interest.

Ms. Gloria Vanderbilt is now 91 years of age and her tumultuous life is shown from her "poor little rich girl" beginnings and the "trial of the century" child custody case through her three failed marriages including rocky relationships with Frank Sinatra and Sidney Lumet, to her successful sojourn into the world of fashion, art, and business. Less time is spent on Mr. Cooper and his own personal rise as a photo journalist and reporter, including his private gay life and his deliberate break with the family to achieve his own fame and fortune, an aspect that would have made the film more involving and honest.

Director Liz Garbus uses many imaginative ways to create a video scrapbook of the family's mercurial events by incorporating Ms. Vanderbilt's colorful art with archival footage that explains the many detours and obstacles in her life. The film is expertly assembled, with strong photography by Tom Hurwitz and skillful editing by Karen Sim, to help portray the various events that cover nearly a century of American history. Interviews with family members and friends add other points of view, although the film rarely shows any negative treatment of either Mr. Cooper or his mother.

The film focuses on little Gloria origins starting with the sudden death of her father and the abandonment of her court-designated "unfit" mother. Her life led her to rebellion and an abusive marriage at the age of seventeen. Other marriages failed including her relationship with famed conductor Leopold Stokowski, who was 40 years her senior. She dabbled in acting, modeling, and painting along her journey before finding true love with a Hollywood screenwriter, Wyatt Cooper, and giving birth to two sons, Carter (who committed suicide at the age of 22, as his mother watched helplessly) and his younger brother, Anderson.

The film is stylishly done, using popular music to help define certain eras. The images are uniformly strong, although some of the interviews between mother and son seem a tad rehearsed, purposely avoiding some topics. Certain scenes dwell on tragedy, such as the sudden death of Gloria's devoted husband and a staged visit to her dead son's grave-site. These segments are poignant but manipulative as well.

Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper is an intriguing look at this wealthy heiress and self-made business tycoon, even if some important details are missing. Perhaps, Ms. Vanderbilt's own words can sum up this woman succinctly: "I have inside me the image of a rock-hard diamond that nothing can get at, and nothing can crack, and I've always known that about myself." Her hard outer shell protects a fragile beauty that continues to shine. So does her film.

NOTE: The film is now showing on HBO and CNN. It was recently in competition at the Sundance Festival.

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My girl put on a movie for us - Nothing Left Unsaid - this quietly tumultuous Sunday. She has this innate sense of depth that is beyond any ocean I have ever sailed upon. Her dark beauty of mind, body, and soul that is simple in its complexity and steps forth to me already behind any walls I have raised about the keep of my castle self.

And there buried in the movie, a poignant tour de force, the Rolling Stones song that always wrecks me, far more than "Out of Time (from yet another movie soundtrack). But until now, only did so in the most private way. And never in such a backdrop. Who would have thought I could relate to the losses and regrets (and art) of Gloria Vanderbilt, and yes, even her youngest son, Anderson Cooper.

There are parallels here. A tightrope in crossing through life, perhaps. Her reflection that once you realize life is a tragedy, you can begin to live your life seems telling.

Someone once told me there are stages to grief, and wondered that I wasn't traveling through them in a timely manner after my brother passed. That approach confused me. By the time my Mom passed eighteen years later, I had finally figured out that grief doesn't care what stage you're in. It always has an undefinable intensity that you are either sharply aware of or that you have muted for a time, to do other things that life asks of you. You change in how you handle it, but it doesn't change.

Such a story, hopefully enough to overcome the shallow sense that would question how a "poor little rich girl" could be just as human in her losses and regrets as the anyone else. And more so in her expression of it in words, and most definitely in her art. This honest film has an undefinable intensity that you need to see if you subscribe to having a human heart.

Yes, it was a really great look at a fascinating subject; however, what was left unsaid -- and not even mentioned -- were the people of color that influenced Gloria Vanderbilt's life. Arguably, there are few, but the biggest was her decades-long love affair with the late Gordon Parks. It's rumored that he's the once who encouraged her to never stop painting, but since he wasn't even mentioned -- Sinatra was, and her affair with him was very brief -- how can they leave out the one who's the reason behind why she still paints today? Either reshoot and sell a "director's cut" or change the title.