SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Reviewing the life of Brooke Shields was a major trip down memory lane for those who grew up in the 80s and 90s. A beautiful girl always in the spotlight, on every magazine cover, and who made the Calvin Klein jeans tag a must-have on everyone’s a*s, she was not without her controversy. However, what makes Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields a worthwhile watch are the decisions that director Lana Wilson makes as Brooke shares her life’s story with us—and it’s more than you think you know.
As Brooke Shields dives into her life and all its beautiful and ugly details, she maintains a strong sense of self, dignity, and identity, especially about the decisions made for her at a very young age. Many interviews, archival footage, photos, images, and film clips have been sewn together to create a story arch in which Brooke is the narrator. Also included are interviews with her long-time friends, including accomplished actor Laura Linney and appearances by Drew Barrymore and Judd Nelson. Established early in the documentary, Brooke’s mom, Teri, was in charge, especially as a single mother who had to provide for and use the system to make a better life for her and Brooke. However, the sexualization of Brooke as a young girl, at age 12, in films such as Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, which many describe as child pornography, didn’t alter Brooke’s life as one would expect. Instead, it is here where Wilson constructs a story supported by Brooke’s appearances on talk shows and interviews that offer underlying credibility to Brooke’s life as an actress and the ability to separate real life from acting. Brooke even calls out Michael Jackson for lying about a relationship with her.
“…made the Calvin Klein jeans tag a must-have on everyone’s a*s…”
As Brooke comes of age in the public eye, she continues to make films that would not be made today, including Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. Yet, Brooke maintains her position as an actress and her decisions even if her mother is behind them. However, Teri’s alcoholism begins to wear on Brooke’s life. Brooke appeared in controversial and memorable Calvin Klein ads. Still, she also attended Princeton University, which was a quiet time, after which she struggled to get her career back. Finally, she found her groove in television comedy, which included Suddenly, Susan, and consistent appearances in movies and television.
But the most defining moment of this very long two-part documentary, which could be a series, is Brooke sharing a sexual assault by a Hollywood director who is never named. This man had a bucket list that included sex with Brooke. Yet, from years of maintaining a sense of self, Brooke compartmentalized this incident and moved on. Brooke moved forward from a not-so-great marriage to tennis star Andre Agassi to reigniting her acting career. She met her husband, Chris Henchy, and even shared with the world her postpartum depression when their first daughter was born in a book—a decision that made a difference and put Tom Cruise to shame.
Director Lana Wilson allows Brooke to be herself and tell her story—it’s solid and well-told. And in the end, you feel as if you made a friend because, as public as Brooke Shield’s entire life was for everyone to judge or worship, Brooke maintained her sense of self and knowledge about the world that is on the level for what it can be for her, which as successful as it was and still is, was full of misogyny, judgment, and the harsh reality of public opinion and superficiality. Yet, Brooke worked and continues to work hard even with the gift of being beautiful, and now we see how beautiful she is from the inside.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields screened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
