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Listen to Me Marlon
Documentary
Marlon Brando died in 2004, but Stevan Riley has crafted a film out of the most comprehensive interview with the actor never before heard—because it’s an interview Brando conducted with himself. Riley mines hundreds of hours of Brando’s private audio recordings that find him touching on both his private and his public life, including his relationship with his alcoholic parents, his philosophy of acting (finding the truth that can make an audience member “stop that movement from the popcorn to the mouth”), his romances, and his feelings about specific performances. Aside from a wonderfully disorienting device that places the words in the mouth of a digitized recreation of Brando’s face, the visuals are often fairly on-the-nose representations of whatever Brando is talking about, occasionally interspersed with televised interviews. But while the apparent need for a cradle-to-grave overview finds Riley making sure to include material like the tragedies involving Brando’s children, the audio material is generally fascinating enough to hold interest. While the title refers to some of the recordings that are a kind of self-hypnosis, they can exert the same effect on someone watching the movie.
Official Site: www.listentomemarlon.com
Director: Stevan Riley
Writer: Stevan Riley and Peter Ettedgui
Producer: R.J. Cutler, George Chignell and John Battsek
Director: Stevan Riley
Writer: Stevan Riley and Peter Ettedgui
Producer: R.J. Cutler, George Chignell and John Battsek
