Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star

Fraid I must disagree with my two estimable imdb colleagues as I found this very brief, very superficial doc neither thoughtful nor delightful. Really it wasn't much of anything and, aside from the film makers being charmed by their subject and wishing to hang with her, I don't see any compelling reason to make the darn thing. It's not as if Ms. Caron was a great actress. Poor man's A. Hepburn about fills the bill where her work is concerned. And aside from her battle with depression there was no interesting non career narrative. And even her struggles in that area did not come out until halfway through the film! Instead what we got were some amusing at best, banal at worst, anecdotes about "Gigi", "American In Paris" and "L Shaped Room", her three best films, and some desultory, not very insightful stuff on Warren Beatty, Gene Kelly and Cary Grant. Nothing on her father, nothing on her siblings, alarmingly little on her mother, especially considering that Caron probably inherited her manic personality from her, and nothing on friends, colleagues or enemies. The only prominent talking head beside Caron's was her son. Just an unrevealing job all around. Solid C.

PS...Was I hallucinating or did this French gal actually think she, rather than Florida native Faye Dunaway, shoulda played Texas waitress turned gangster, Bonnie Parker? Truly, the egotism of actors is one vast expanse.