Seberg movie review

MOVIE TITLE:   SEBERG

RATING:  R

LENGTH:   1 hour, 42 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   C+

IN A NUTSHELL:

This Amazon Studios movie is inspired by true events during the life of Jean Dorothy Seberg, who was a popular American actress in the 1960’s.  Australian director Benedict Andrews shows how she became targeted by the FBI in the COINTELPRO investigation for her connection to the Black Panthers.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• Kids will be extremely bored and shouldn’t watch this movie anyway.
• Profanity, including many F-bombs.
• The scene is dark, but you see a bi-racial couple in bed and you hear noises.
• There are several scenes that reference a movie Jean Seberg made about Joan of Arc, particularly where she was being burned at the stake.
• You see a topless woman.
• Obscene picture
• Some examples of terrible parenting
• Infidelity

THEMES:

• Truth vs. rumors vs. lies
• Civil Rights
• FBI overreach
• Making a difference
• “If you can change one mind, you can change the world.” –  Hakim Jamal   (Anthony Mackie)
• “When you’re in love, you’re color blind.” – Jean Seberg   (Kristen Stewart)
• “The real threat is the lie we tell that everyone has a fair shake in America.” – Jean
• The power of fame and money
• Activism

THINGS I LIKED:

• I like Kristen Stewart and thought she did a good job and looked beautiful.  She’s intriguing to watch and even speaks French in the movie.   I loved her cute blonde Pixie haircut and outfits.  She shaved her hair even more in the movie UNDERWATER.  Actress Jodie Foster was going to play this role many years ago, but the film never happened.  Kristen Stewart has been quite busy pumping out movies lately: UNDERWATER and Charlie’s Angels.  Watching clips of her act during the rolling credits was powerful.
• Anthony Mackie is so handsome and does a good job as Hakim Jamal.
• I also liked Jack O’Connel as Agent Jack Solomon and Vince Vaughn.  Other highlights are Zazie Beetz and Stephen Root.
• You see old TV news clips from the volatile 1960’s. One of the clips features Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver.  I met him when I was a teenager, back when he was trying to clean up his life and become a Christian.  It created quite a stir in my local congregation, as you can imagine.  Unfortunately, his demons got the best of him and he was plagued with drug problems that he just couldn’t shake.  A movie about his life would certainly be interesting.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Very few viewers will have ever seen any of Jean Seberg’s movies or remember the details of the true events.  It made me wonder what the truth really was surrounding the events.  After watching the film, I searched online to learn more and found a number of details in the movie that were not accurate.  It made me wonder why they didn’t just include the truth instead of change what happened.
• The characters are fairly one-dimensional, a missed opportunity.
• It was interesting when Jean said, “They made this happen”, not accepting her own part in the events that unfolded.
• It felt long.  Kinda boring…kinda slow.
• The script is fairly flat, missing the spark that the time period deserves.

It would be nice to think that the FBI got in trouble for how they treated Jean Seberg, but a recent movie proves that not much has changed:

INTERESTING LINES:

• “Education creates understanding. Understanding creates love.  Love creates patience, and patience creates unity.  But education costs money.” –  Hakim Jamal
• “We are all responsible. We are all culpable.” – Jean

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY ABOUT 1960’s HOLLYWOOD:

        

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@TrinaBoice