Cary Grant is very fondly remembered as a Hollywood icon but documentary filmmaker Mark Kidel scrapes away the Hollywood glitz and gloss to explore the man behind the movie star in Becoming Cary Grant. Adapted from an unpublished autobiography, we hear Grant’s fascinating story in his own words, with actor Jonathan Pryce reading excerpts to provide an enjoyable voice-over.
Kidel’s narrative focus switches seamlessly between topics of conversation, including his working-class Bristol upbringing, his mid-life existential crisis which led to LSD therapy, and his collaborative bond with Hitchcock as the film charts his illustrious and surprisingly complex life and career through a straightforward linear structure. It is alarmingly honest and always insightful in conveying Grant’s flaws as well as his better-known charming qualities, and dissects his psyche as he learned to live with being one of, if not the most famous and sought-after man in the industry.
Cinema Perspective 