Marlon Brando was never the kind of person who courted much in the way of publicity or granting interviews. He was well known for being fiercely protective of his own privacy and seldom allowed anyone into his own inner sanctum in any way. As an actor, Brando refused to pursue the long held Hollywood tradition of being marketed as another matinée idol and to cash in on his good looks. He was determined to channel his acting training into a wide variety of roles in film. To a large extent, Brando succeeded. In other ways, his choice of films left a bit to be desired and his career suffered as a result. All of this and much more is covered in this Award winning feature length documentary. The man as well as the actor is covered, we get the best of both worlds. The makers of the documentary had access to volumes of written notes and authentic recordings of Marlon Brando himself. Such recordings are nothing short of being a revelation as the man wasn't known for being particularly forthcoming or intimate in talking about himself. Thanks to "Listen to Me Marlon," these recordings of him offer an insight that had only previously been hinted at. After watching this documentary, Brando comes across as someone who had his own Demons to contend with (as most of us do) and a lot of this is down to his rather troubled and disrupted childhood. His relationship with his father was often strained and they had little to do with each other later on. I was fascinated with the section of Brando's time in New York when people like Elia Kazan and Stella Adler changed his life forever. You really feel as though you gain a real and unflinching impression of what made Brando tick as a person as well as an actor. Most of Brando's films are mentioned and detailed. This is the only documentary you will need on Marlon Brando.
Review of Listen to Me Marlon
