Listen to Me Marlon

Invited

Throughout his life, Marlon Brando recorded his thoughts on audio tape. The tapes, which sometimes serve as a diary, at other times a kind of therapy, reveal the inner life of the man who changed film acting forever. From his nostalgia-laden yet troubled boyhood in Omaha—recreated visually with gorgeous, lyrical imagery—to his Method training and explosive success on Broadway and in Hollywood, to an old age marked by excess, scandal, and family tragedy, Brando’s own words trace the convoluted path of a remarkable American life. An abundance of film clips gives proof to Brando’s philosophy of the art of acting, as he explains how he achieved ferocious performances that could make his costars seem like mannequins. Listen to Me Marlon accomplishes a similarly virtuosic feat, artfully sequencing never-before-heard tapes into a lucid narrative. It’s a strikingly deep portrait of a man whose thoughts and feelings played so vividly across the surface of his face.  MM

Director

Stevan Riley

Producers

John Battsek, R.J. Cutler, George Chignell

Editor

Stevan Riley

Cinematographer

Ole Bratt-Birkeland

Release Year

2014

Festival Year

2015

Country

United Kingdom

Run Time

97 minutes