O Efeito Martha Mitchell

Here's The 4K Lowedown on "The Martha Mitchell Effect" (PG - 2022 - Netflix) Genre: Documentary/Biography

My Score: 6.3 Cast=6 Acting=6 Plot=7 Ending=6 Story=7 Interest=7 Cinema=4 Direct=6 History=10 Pace=4

The Cabinet wife who spoke out during Watergate and the Nixon administration's campaign to gaslight her into silence.

I knew about the Watergate scandal, but I didn't know about Martha Mitchell or her involvement. This intrigued me right off the bat and it did drop some knowledge on me that I didn't already have. The problem I had with this was the documentary was so dry that I had to wipe the dust off my TV twice in the 40 minutes it took to see it. If you are interested in Politics or Watergate specifically, I think this is worth a watch.

A forty minute mini doc. John mitchell was nixon's attorney general, and his most trusted advisor. But mitchell's wife martha was loud and outspoken, to both her own husband, as well as to nixon's policies. She actually was a nixon supporter, but also believed in a strong, free press and transparency. Unfortunately, those were not nixon's strong suits. Discussion of how martha was detained and beaten, by "someone" in nixon's camp, because of her public, vocal opinions. A well done production. Lots of recordings presented, even by nixon himself. As a student of history, I was aware of the watergate hearings, but had not been aware of martha's role in having it exposed. Interesting stuff. Directed by anne alvergue, debra mcclutchy. Martha died of myeloma at age 57. Just two years after nixon resigned. More details at wikipedia dot org. This was nominated for best short documentary.

Wow -- what a surprise and a delight!

I knew the basic history of Watergate -- or rather, I thought I knew. "The Martha Mitchell Effect" reintroduced me to that past and made me question the relative simplicity of the story I'd learned previously.

With efficient storytelling that nevertheless dynamically develops its main character, the film presents a memorable story suggestive of contemporary connections without putting a fine point on them -- that is, it's faithful to its history, as a work of history should be, yet pushes the viewer to reexamine the present (again, as a work of history should!).

The restrained yet stylized use of motion and motion graphics with the archival images deserves special mention. It managed to elevate the work and give it a contemporary feel without once taking the viewer out of the era at the heart of the film. It's thoroughly historical, yet impressively fresh.

It's a shame this documentary wasn't a full-length one that looked at Martha Mitchell's entire life. Instead, it was a very short look at her life in Washington and Watergate. Richard Nixon is seen in an interview saying if not for Martha Mitchell, there would have been no Watergate. The crimes would have not been exposed.

Martha Mitchell was the Mouth of the South. She was not like any of the other Republican wives. She did not censor her comments about anything, but still was much the Republican, except where the Vietnam War was concerned. It wasn't the war, however, that made the Nixon administration try to silence her. It was Watergate.

Not only did they try to silence her, they tried to make her out to be mentally ill. Her own husband, who she had always ferociously protected and supported, is heard on White House tapes saying she needed to be seen by the media as unstable. This wasn't gaslighting, because Martha Mitchell was way too smart to be gaslighted.

It was a campaign to discredit her in the eyes of the world. How it all ends is sad. Sad for everyone, including Martha Mitchell, the one person who would not be silenced. Too bad Martha Mitchell wasn't around to take on Donald Trump. She would not have supported his crimes, stupidity and incompetence for a second.

Depicts the political life in Washington DC during Nixon era from the perspective of a wife of a prominent political figure close to Nixon. As expected for that time she was not taken seriously when she told everyone including the press about the political maneuvers made during the Watergate by the president any the ones close to him and that includes her husband. After Nixon's resignation the press recognizes her as person who spoke the truth to power and later from the Watergate tapes we can find that Nixon feared her and tried to silence her multiple times.