Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)

The story of psychologist William Moulton Marston, and his polyamorous relationship with his wife and their mistress who would inspire his creation of the superheroine, Wonder Woman.

Director:

Angela Robinson

Writer:

Angela Robinson

Stars:

Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Evans	...	William Moulton Marston
Rebecca Hall	...	Elizabeth Marston
Bella Heathcote	...	Olive Byrne
Connie Britton	...	Josette Frank
Monica Giordano	...	Mary
JJ Feild	...	Charles Guyette
Chris Conroy	...	Brant Gregory
Oliver Platt	...	M.C. Gaines
Maggie Castle	...	Dorothy Roubicek
Alexa Havins	...	Molly Stewart
Sharon Kubo	...	Kate
Allie Gallerani	...	Sara
Christopher Jon Gombos	...	Fred Stewart (as Chris Gombos)
Forry Buckingham	...	Doctor
Stacy Fischer	...	Linda

Storyline

Details the unconventional life of Dr. William Marston, the Harvard psychologist and inventor who helped invent the modern lie detector test and created Wonder Woman in 1941. Marston was in a polyamorous relationship with his wife Elizabeth, a psychologist and inventor in her own right, and Olive Byrne, a former student who became an academic. This relationship was key to the creation of Wonder Woman, as Elizabeth and Olive's feminist ideals were ingrained in the character from her creation. Marston died of skin cancer in 1947, but Elizabeth and Olive remained a couple and raised their and Marston's children together. The film is said to focus on how Marston dealt with the controversy surrounding Wonder Woman's creation.

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Plot Keywords:

comic book writer | taboo | wonder woman | sadomasochism | college professor | 

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Taglines:

Meet the women behind the man behind the woman.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

R for strong sexual content including brief graphic images, and language.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

El profesor Marston y la Mujer Maravilla

Filming Locations:

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$736,883, 15 October 2017, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$1,584,759, 20 November 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Opposite Field Pictures,Boxspring Entertainment,Stage 6 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though promoted as "the true story" of William Moulton Marston, Elizabeth Marston and Olive Byrne, most of this film is speculative as the Marstons never accounted their intimate life. At the 2017 New York Comic Con, Angela Robinson was asked by Travis Langley, a friend of the Marston family, and said that she "talked to a source who said that that was her interpretation, who had studied them, chose to tell the story as my interpretation of the story, and I think that there's a lot of facts that are indisputable about the Marstons and I feel that there's a lot that's open to interpretation. So as a filmmaker, this was my interpretation of their story."

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Goofs

In a scene set in the 1920's, Prof. Marston says that he was "in the OSS" during World War I. But the OSS didn't exist until 1942. In the twenties, "in the OSS" would have been meaningless.

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Quotes

William Moulton Marston: We did it! The link to the lie-detector test was there the whole time. It doesn't matter what you say or what you think. Your body will always betray you. Your heart pumps a record of the truth.

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Crazy Credits

Photos of real-life William Marston, his wife Elizabeth, and Olive Byrne are shown at the end of the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)

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Soundtracks

Streams
Written and Performed by Tom Howe
Courtesy of Feature Production Music Ltd

User Reviews

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

The film shows the story of how Wonder Woman became to be. It is a story that should seem mundane, but Angela Robinson makes it exciting and real. The story is full of extremely sexual dialogue, moments, and visuals. The film is a great character study and also has a good amount of humor spattered throughout.

The acting is the best part of the film. Rebecca Hall, Luke Evans, and Bella Heathcote all perform phenomenally. Rebecca Hall delivers probably the best performance of her career as a narcissistic woman who is also brilliant.

The pacing is mostly good. The runtime is also a little overlong.

Pros: Exciting and real story, great character study, some good humor, amazing acting by Rebecca Hall, good overall acting, and a good ending

Cons: Some slow pacing and an overlong runtime

Overall Rating:.7.3