I recently watched The Last Movie Stars, a six-part documentary about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward on HBO. What a fantastic documentary!
Paul Newman had it all. He was a world-recognized actor, a political activist, a generous philanthropist, an admired racing driver, and with his startling blue eyes – one of the world’s “most beautiful people.”
However, one undeniable thing through the documentary is that he struggled to feel worthy his entire life. Did that stem from childhood, his relationship with his parents – or from having some of the best actors of s generation around him? I guess where this feeling came from doesn’t matter. This is how he felt for most of his life!
The documentary was masterfully directed by Ethan Hawke, who showed Neman’s vulnerability alongside his superstardom—interviews, tapes, voiceovers, and incredible footage help to tell the story.
Some fascinating things came to light that I had never thought of before.
Newman says that his success and fortune were all down to “luck,” but he added the caveat that one must be prepared to take advantage of good luck. He certainly did. Despite his good looks, irresistible charm, and sex symbol status, he still had to overcome fear and anxiety.
He seemed to “compare his insides to others’ outsides.” When surrounded by Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Sidney Poitier, you can only imagine how tough the competition is. They all won more awards than him. And while he felt he could never come close to matching their talents, he continued to dedicate himself to the craft. Perhaps the very thing that was holding him back was the thing that was his driving force. Could his fear of not being good enough be his double edge sword?
A good documentary makes you think. The one question stayed with me long after I had watched the series – How does one use a weakness to become a strength? How have our strengths become weaknesses? How do we calibrate the two?
In the film, I noticed a lot of pain around change. Why do we, as humans, have to have pain before we change? Why do we have to hear bad news from the doctor before we change our health habits? Or why do we have to have relationship issues before we modify our behavior? This may not be the case for everyone, but it must be noted that it even happens to our heroes like Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
That is why Ethan Hawke did such a great job. The documentary didn’t show just the glitz and the glamour, nor did they show just the trashy tabloid magazine stuff. He showed their humanity, something we all share and can learn from.
It was also about such a personal journey. Paul Newman had never won an Oscar. He finally won an Oscar after he embraced therapy, suffered loss, surrendered to too many personal demons, and finally became who he had wanted to be.
I found the series fascinating. Of course, it’s also glamorous, insightful, and an excellent way to spend six hours.
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