Film: Love, Marilyn

A week ago I had the pleasure of catching up with some DVR and was blown away by the HBO documentary Love, Marilyn.


Love, Marilyn is a new documentary on the famed actress which came to production after two boxes of her own diaries, poems, and letters were discovered in the home of her acting coach Lee Strasberg. Pieces of these articles are read throughout the film by actors such as Viola Davis, Jeremy Piven, and Lindsay Lohan while telling her life story.

We've all become familiar with the juxtaposition that was Marilyn Monroe. Though seemingly a confident sexpot, she was delicate, emotional, and some thought unstable. This is the basis of My Week With Marilyn, another film that explores her as a person. But, what My Week With Marilyn seems to overlook, in my opinion, was the struggle Monroe faced daily in her own life. In pursuit of the Hollywood dream the journey she truly desired was love.

Monroe seemed to be a hopeless romantic. Diving into relationships head first with only the best intentions. Wanting to be a good housewife or society's view of the "perfect wife". She was often torn between the image that made her money, and the image that made the men in her life happy. Evident during the infamous white dress scene for The Seven Year Itch. She played along for the cameras as they kept reshooting the scene in New York surrounded by a crowd of fans who cheered her on, while her then husband, Joe DiMaggio, was furious with the thought of all these people seeing her underwear.

Monroe's notes and diaries were full of an ambition to be the best person she can be in both her craft and life. She pushed herself daily to tune her acting skills, gain culture, and find hope in the idea of an eternal love. She pursued her career while other stars like Elizabeth Taylor made buckets of money more than her. She struggled with negotiations and production company's to match these paychecks. She was just another person like you and me.

It was an interesting look into Monroe's life and I hope that you all get a chance to see it. Even if you're not a crazy Marilyn Monroe fan it's worth the watch.