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Searching for Debra Winger

Posted by jamesgarvin (A) on March 24, 2005 at 12:12:54

Watched this documentary last night. I do not believe that it received a commercial release, though it was apparently shown at Cannes in 2002. Patricia Arquette put this film together, and narrates it as well. She talked to numerous women in Hollywood, some in Europe, about women in film. The roles they receive, balancing life outside of film with their lives in film, etc.

The actresses included: Martha Plimpton, Meg Ryan, Holly Hunter, Vanessa Redgrave, Sharon Stone, Jane Fonda, Emanuelle Beart, Melony Griffith, Roseanna Arquette, Ally Sheedy, Debra Winger, Darryl Hannah, Laura Dern, Terri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Salma Hayek, Diane Lane, Kelly Lynch, Julianna Margulies, Frances McDormand, Julia Ormond, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlotte Rampling, Theresa Russell, Tracy Ullman, Alfre Woodard, Robin Penn, and couple of others I was not familiar with.

Some of it was a little too much psychobabble for me. I always find it ironic that anyone in Hollywood believes that they have figured out how to maintain a healthy private life with their professions because they are all such failures at it. Hayak talks at length about that, as does Stone and Fonda. Fonda tells us that Ted Turner asked her to give up her career, which she did because she wanted intimacy at the point in her life more than another role. I am sure the money did not hurt.

Plimpton made some good observations about the lack of women character actors, something I noticed, but have not really thought about. There are male actors "who have a face like a foot" who work regularly. But unless the female is either very young or vey old, then work is difficult to find. Once actress, I cannot recall her name, commented that most studios as run by men who have fantasies about the actresses that are cast.

Emanuelle Beart had the strongest comments about the film business, and seemed the most defiant about her unwillingness to do what the business expects of her. Katrin Cartlidge stated that she had done some umpleasant things to get some roles, though she did not state what those things were.

Hannah talked about a role in which she played a mother to a sixteen year old, and the studio asked her to wear a wig and wear frumpy clothes because the studio did not believe that someone that looked like her could have a sixteen year old child.

Debra Winger also made an appearance. She talked about how on the set of Officer and a Gentlemen, a producer came to her and handed her a pill because he said she looked bloated, and needed to retain water. She talked about her frustration not only with the roles, but the amount of time she had to prepare, which did not include time for research, et al.

I would not say that it is a great film, or even a very good film. About 70% of it was interesting, and maybe 30% things we already know, or were acresses blabbering. Incidentally, Roger Ebert is the only male to have a speaking role in the film.

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Schiit Audio

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