The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe (2022)
Everyone knows Marilyn Monroe is a beautiful enigma. Sixty years after her death, she’s still a moving target, keeping us guessing about what she was really like. The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes recently came to Netflix promising to change everything we know about Marilyn’s death. Was it suicide? Was it an accidental overdose? Or something else?
And I know it’s slightly off-topic, but for the record, all the shame on whoever allowed Kim Kardashian to wear Marilyn’s dresses. Seriously, people, words cannot describe how disrespectful this was to Marilyn and to history. The credibility of those who should have stopped it and didn’t is now shot to Hades.
But I digress.
The bulk of the documentary is narrated by Anthony Summers, author of the 1985 book, Goddess: The Secret Lives Of Marilyn Monroe, and it’s more of a recreation of Summers’ research process than it is a straight documentary. Summers isn’t exactly free from controversy; film historian Donald Spoto has pointed out several errors Summers made in his book and doubted the tapes proving Summers’ claims existed. It almost feels like this documentary exists because director Emma Cooper and possibly Summers himself wanted to prove his claims correct or at least clear some things up.
Mystery is far from linear, following a stream-of-consciousness pattern, so we might see Marilyn the star hobnobbing with the Kennedys and Hollywood glitterati juxtaposed with Marilyn the waif who was shuffled off to an orphan’s home and foster care. It’s especially amazing seeing her as a child because she stands out. No matter where she was or how glammed up she may have been at the moment, Marilyn always stood out, and it’s not because hindsight tells us she’s Marilyn Monroe. People who knew her said that she was different from everyone else.
The film has been criticized for not bringing out anything new about Marilyn, but I disagree. Summers didn’t just talk to Marilyn’s fellow stars or industry professionals; instead, he interviewed her psychiatrist and his family, who basically took Marilyn in during her last years. He talked to the owner of the ambulance company that transported her to the hospital on the night she died, and according to them, Marilyn didn’t die at home but in the ambulance. Summers even talked to Marilyn’s housekeeper. He taped it all and we get to hear plenty.
This, however, is where things got really odd.
It’s awesome that the film features so much original audio from Marilyn’s friends and relatives, as well as Marilyn herself, which would ordinarily be historical gold, yet for some reason the film shows fuzzily-filmed actors lip synching these taped interviews. Um, why? That’s a weird way to treat primary sources. And needless. And intrusive. Every time I saw one of these actors, which was fairly frequently, I felt my shoulders slump.
The film’s quasi-docudrama approach mucks up a fairly balanced picture of a woman who was well on her way to becoming a brilliant dramatic actress but who was shot down by demons and traumas she carried with her all her days. The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe may not be groundbreaking, but it’s interesting as long as it’s watched with the proverbial grain of salt.
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes is currently streaming on Netflix. Rated TV-14.
My grade: B+
Directed by Emma Cooper
Narrated by Anthony Summers.