The documentary is pretty bland
(Picture: Handout)Audrey Hepburn’s life was no fairytale.
As we learn in Helena Coan’s documentary, Hepburn’s parents both had fascist tendencies and her father’s decision to leave the family (and barely make contact in the following years) led to insecurity and a constant craving for love. Details re the actress’s second marriage, to Andrea Dotti, are surreal. In terms of rottenness, Dotti managed to outdo even the dad.
It’s a shame Hepburn’s friends and admirers are so gushy. This motley crew over-use the word “iconic”, state the bleedin’ obvious and, on occasion, bend the truth. Says one: “She turned her back on her career, at the height of her fame, which is unheard of!” Actually, no, Garbo and Grace Kelly got there first.
Director Coan, 26, is a dab hand at gaining trust and, quite rightly, wants to put her stamp on the material. A sequence involving three ballerinas, one middle-aged and weary-looking, is poignant.
Hepburn was dedicated to charity work in her later years
HandoutThat said, this mostly feels like a project designed to soothe hard-core fans and is basically pretty bland. The real Hepburn had bite.
Watch her in Roman Holiday, playing a princess who, upon realising that she’s been bred to produce winsome smiles, screams “Stop!” Audrey gave good face, but it’s her fury that’s sublime.
100 mins. On DVD and digital download from November 30
