Audrey
***

A good biographical film provides an insight into the character of the main subject, shows their life trajectory and highlights their accomplishments. Certainly, this film about Audrey Hepburn does these tasks in spades. We see her childhood brush with World War Two, her early years of dance and then her unsurpassed career in film. We get a great insight into how she approached her acting career by some of her co-stars, directors and producers. We briefly meet her various husbands and get glimpses of her children and one of her sons does provide some of the background narration of her later years. It is in the twilight of her life that we see her character emerge as an empathic humanitarian as she tirelessly traveled and raised funds as a spokesperson for UNICEF

However, what was missing in our opinion, was an insight into her childhood and meaningful relationships. We see how in her later years she sought out the father who had abandoned her when she was a child which was a big disappointment. We learn about her marriage to film icon Mel Ferrer which lasted. 14 years and produced one child, a son. She was then married to an Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti for 13 years and she had a second son. She was quoted as saying something to the effect that doctors pay more attention to their patients than their families. She never met her grandchildren who were born after she died in 1993 at the age of 63.

Watching this documentary one can’t help but be reminded of the luminous presence that she was. In the end, her outstanding memorable acting career as an icon during the Golden Years of Hollywood and her dedicated humanitarian work will leave an unforgettable, enduring legacy.

****

Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me– If you love Elaine Stritch, dramatic actress, singer, musical comedy star and Broadway legend you will want to see this documentary. If you want to meet a remarkable 87 year old star who speaks her mind and is not afraid to tell you she that still needs the love of her audiences, you will want to see this documentary. While one might think that the filmmaker Chiemi Karasawa had always been an avid fan of the subject of this film, you will be surprised to learn that this was not the case. In fact, her interest was stimulated by their mutual hairdresser, who suggested that Stritch would be the ideal subject for a documentary. Karasawa then unearthed everything she could about this woman and ultimately convinced Ms. Stritch to let her do the film. Stritch, who never does anything half way granted the filmmaker full access to her life and embraced the project with the intensity and humor, which is so much a part of her character. The film is not a retrospective review of this amazing person, although it certainly gives you ample glimpses of her star-studded career. But rather it is the story of an elderly woman facing the challenges of life with concerns about her health and memory who nevertheless is still up for another show, another concert, another rehearsal, another review, all with energy and, yes, with great vitality. And this woman can still sing! It is exciting to see her rehearse with her music director as she prepares for her latest cabaret performance at the famed Café Carlyle as she lives in her suite at that same hotel. You can almost hear Frank Sinatra singing New York New York as she hustles down a Manhattan street. All of this is quite real as is her hospitalization at Mount Sinai Hospital for hypoglycemia related to her diabetes. The camera doesn’t miss a beat nor does Ms. Stritch. Two unforgettable moments are the look on a young Stephen Sondheim’s face as a young Elaine Stritch nails one of his songs and another moment when an older Stritch marvels how Sondheim’s words so often captured her own feelings. We come away from this film with a picture of the legend, who once turned down JFK’ s offer to join her at her apartment one evening. A woman who could never find a love to replace her 10 year marriage to John Bay actor and playwright who died in 1982 of a brain tumor and every year still send English Muffins from her husband’s family muffin business to hundreds of her friends. A woman who has been nominated for multiple Tony’s, Emmys and what have you and a woman who is now sure to be unforgettable to new and old fans thanks to this film.  (2014)