Making Montgomery Clift

“Through an abundance of archival footage, as well as some surprising interviews from the present, including Patricia Bosworth, said biographer, and Jack Larson, a former lover of Clift’s who played Jimmy Olsen in the Superman TV series from the 40’s, Clift and his co-director Hilary Demmon unravel the strands of truth and focus on Monty as the talented and exacting artist he was, rather than the dark, tragic figure people believed him to be. It seems he was not that at all, by all accounts, the life of the party, funny and upbeat, and comfortable with his sexuality, Monty was detail-oriented, and independent, bucking the studio system in a time when that was everything in Hollywood, and still garnering superstardom. Anderson Clift and Demmon effectively weave Monty’s tale with that of his brother’s, and even biographer Bosworth to create a fascinating unraveling of a myth and a possible illumination of truth. On a broader scale, it certainly shows how even a well-intentioned story is shaped to appeal to the masses to be popular, distorts the truth, and allows for obvious, if false assumptions that are then left uncorrected.

“As someone who knew of Monty only by reputation (I’ve only seen one of his films), MAKING MONTGOMERY CLIFT was an illuminating and entertaining film… one of the best of the festival. The man was an incredible beauty, and an artistic talent whose legacy has become tainted by some unfair, broad brush strokes. Here’s hoping this doc can take the first steps into showing the real Montgomery Clift.” 5 cats

Chris says: “The world doesn’t need another sensational expose of Montgomery Clift, the troubled movie star tortured by his sexuality and driven to an early death at age 45 in 1966—it’s a story told incessantly, from ’70s best-selling biographies to sleazy ’90s basic cable TV specials. This documentary attempts to debunk those perceptions as myths and mostly does so convincingly, focusing chiefly on Clift’s craft as an actor. It not only details how he redefined masculinity onscreen but takes a deep dive into his struggle to remain independent, arguing that his tendency to speak up and rewrite his dialogue might’ve had a more adverse effect on his career than his bisexuality did.

And yet, this occasionally falls into the same trap as those other depictions of Clift in that it goes too far in the other direction. We learn how great a performer and magnetic a person he was, but the film doesn’t go deeply enough into his personal relationships (romantic or otherwise) apart from his older brother, Brooks (whose son, Robert, is the film’s co-director.) Almost the entire second half gets bogged down in audio recordings the now-deceased Brooks made of conversations between himself and Clift (without Clift knowing) and this narrowed, personal perspective throws the balance right off. I did learn a lot of new things about Clift here, but admittedly, I left MAKING MONTGOMERY CLIFT feeling there was still so much more to know.” 3 cats