11.02.2024

A Fan's Review of "Martha"

Having recently watched the Netflix documentary about Martha (called simply, “Martha”, directed by R.J. Cutler), I feel as though I know her a bit better, and respect her even more than I had before. The revealing nature of Martha's interviews will surprise many, but this exposure of her more vulnerable side was likely the main purpose of the film. Martha’s cultural image as a person who is somewhat aloof, somewhat above the fray, is challenged in the documentary with extremely frank, honest and at times emotional interviews with Martha about the more personal aspects of her life - sometimes at the expense of a thorough examination of the worlds she's built in business, publishing, television, and at home.

For those expecting a documentary about Martha’s work and legacy, the film may be a disappointment. Martha had given full access to all of her archives, both professional and personal, and in a New York Times interview online she expressed surprise and discontent that the producers of the film had not used that access to full advantage. She also says that too much time was spent on the criminal trial and her subsequent incarceration, and I tend to agree.

Much more could have been said about Martha’s cultural relevance and how that relevance was achieved – much more about the “why” rather than so much of the “what.” This would have required more analysis of the cultural dynamics during the 1980s and ‘90s: Martha’s ascent and peak. The trial and its fallout were significant, of course, and there’s no question that period in her life radically altered the trajectory of her career – and the careers of many others. It deserved to be in the documentary, certainly, but not a full quarter of the documentary.

There were some stylistic elements, too, that I found a little bit jarring. I was not fond of the comic book illustrations that appeared throughout the documentary. It took me out of the narrative and seemed at odds with Martha’s aesthetic. Using footage of Martha’s gardens and kitchens and rooms in her homes during narration would have been a more interesting alternative to the cartoonish drawings. This would have subtly shown aspects of Martha’s achievements and passions in her personal world: slow pans of Martha’s peony garden in full bloom, or the cracked-ice terrace at Skylands, or the kitchen at Bedford, or the luxe, dark tones of the Brown room, the antiques, the crystal, the stables, the pine-needle pathways, the greenhouse, the flower arrangements… Footage of her private world could have been used instead of the drawings and the viewer would have a more accurate understanding of her aesthetic and the atmospheres she builds around herself for comfort and display.

There was only brief mention of her renovation of Lily Pond Lane in the early 1990s, but nothing was said about any of her other homes, gardens, kitchens or legendary parties where so much of her talents are on full display. This was a missed opportunity.

The consistent deferral to her relevance to a youthful audience highlighted the filmmaker’s preoccupation, rather than any true analysis of why this relevance is important. Much more time could have been spent on what she was teaching and why those lessons were so important to so many people around the world, how that shifted the culture, how it influenced magazine publication, how it inspired entrepreneurship, etc. Once again, the subject of her life’s work was treated as almost incidental and unimportant – homemaking as an artform. By glossing over this, the film unintentionally belittled the relevance of Martha's work over the relevance of Martha as an older celebrity.

Having said that, the personal admissions and confessions by Martha about some of the more shadowy aspects of her life were fascinating and captivating as a viewer. She does discuss uncomfortable subjects, such as her divorce, unfaithfulness, and some of her difficulties maintaining lasting relationships, both personal and professional. It reveals some of her vulnerability, which I’m sure was uncomfortable for her. But I think the audience, for the most part, will find this aspect endearing. Showing herself to be a person who is not immune to emotional pain, to some bad decisions, to feelings of loss and regret will humanize her to many.

This is clearly not the documentary Martha wanted, given her comments to the New York Times, although she seems to be at peace with the result. I personally feel that a docu-series is required to fully illustrate the complexities of her life as well as the legendary achievements of her career, which is still unfolding, by the way! But anyone interested in the subject of Martha Stewart must watch this documentary. I think it is enlightening in surprising and revealing ways.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen it yet, but I know I respect your review here.

Anonymous said...

Very well written, as always! Thoughtful and expressive of what so many of us feel as well.

Frederic Kahler said...

Thank you for this good read and "heads up" to go ahead and watch this. If there was so much about Martha's cachet and history at the filmmakers fingertips and they passed on these golden opportunities, I'll still be glad to catch her vulnerability. You see, with the trial and incarceration dead and gone and so many hurdles in her industrious life now mere footnotes, Martha *can* be vulnerable for us. She is at her edge of glory. All the great conflicts have been resolved. All the achievements met. She has done it all. She can relax as the thirst trap she always wanted to be (and was, behind the scenes!). There must still be awards and honors to bestow upon our doyenne, our matriarch, our homemaker Hercules. Glad to tuck this semi-awkward documentary under my belt with the good hope there will be other documentaries to come in the decades to come. PBS torchbearer Ken Burns has yet to cover her. What of her ancestry by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.? And what of the legion of young historians who will kvell as they unearth her many facets, facets we are already familiar with but seen through fresh eyes and fresh cameras. I am looking forward to her autobiography, which will plug those holes in her Nutley dike. Each new narrative will get part of her; an accumulation -- a library -- will be required to fathom not only this one-of-a-kind tastemaker domesticity guru but of her manifold innovations, her historical parties and conventions, and her friends, who will one day gather with the general public out on the sidewalks watching the coverage on our cell phones to celebrate her life lived well and paradoxically honestly. Martha cannot escape being Martha, and I think that is what enchants us -- her presence amid gallons of Champagne, acres of fresh pies, myriad racks of lamb, warehouses stuffed with glittered pinecones and gowns, reams of magazine wealth -- Marthapedia -- and file cabinets stuffed with precious thoughts of her grandchildren and her only daughter, her sister Laura and her mother Big Martha and all the Polish-American men, led by her Dad, who with enough common sense and latitude let her pave her own way through this world, with all the bells and whistles of her grace, her acumen, her practical know-how and her laughter that will ring in our ears long after she finally retreats to the great Turkey Hill in the sky.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you 100%. She said it all at the very end was so sad. I’m very proud of how she has come back. I think she’s not quite the same for what she’s been through and so unfair to her all she tried to do was teach us how to have a lovely happy home and how to enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

AR. Variety magazine has an article/interview/transcription about/with/of MS. I have not a subscription with Netflix thus I have attempted to find and read commentary of this documentary. Otherwise I would not have discovered MS was on a roast of Justin Beiber. The ribald jokes had everyone in stitches and if one followed the blog of alexis. One would say to one self did did she learn to talk like that from her mother or visa versa lol. I work with a woman from a large family and she talks of the sailor.

Anonymous said...

Do you MS' PR rep was off camera during the filming of this "documentary?" I visited the susan maringo website and found it rather interesting.

Anonymous said...

Martha seems to like attention do I’m wondering if her complaints are really just to get people to watch it.