Beauty exists in a dichotomous plane of existence
There’s little discussion to be had about it–beauty is a revered trait. It is a quality that has great emphasis in modern society, often overshadowing other, arguably more important characteristics like charm, sociability, strength and above all, intelligence. Indeed, it seems as though physical attraction is one of the main ways in which we as a society place value onto an individual. In fact, our weight on beauty is so heavily skewed that we often believe that a beautiful person is a smarter person too, a correlation that seems to have been showcased in Classic Hollywood star, Hedy Lamarr.
But that correlation was seldom appreciated, nay even seen, by society in the mid-20th century. Women were domesticated, forced to remain in the kitchen and look after the household. They were stripped of their individualism and forced to adhere to strict Anglo-Christian paradigms of patriarchy. They were not to be smart, outspoken, or in charge of their own destiny. Instead, they were to be quiet and obedient in their endless pursuit of satisfying the man of the house. But every once in a while, there was a woman who defied those odds, who rose the ranks of establishment and introduced herself as a force to be reckoned with. As Alexandra Dean argues in her directorial debut Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, Lamarr was not only one such person, she was the embodiment of it.
Although rightly considered a bonafide beauty, Lamarr was more than a pretty little trinket–she was a whip-smart woman who knew what she wanted and knew how to take it too. Born into a upper-middle class banking family in Vienna, Lamarr quickly showcased her intelligence, being able to take apart and put back together a small music box by the age of five. She was always naturally drawn to the sciences, having been encouraged by her loving father to do so for most of her life. But it wasn’t long before everyone around her began being transfixed by her gorgeous looks.
The young Lamarr would enter rooms and stop everyone in their tracks, making husbands look foolish and women seem envious. It seemed that her beauty would dictate her future, not her natural intellect. Lamarr knew she was destined for a life on the stage, where beauty reigned king. By her late teens, the Austrian-born actress was starring in films and performing theater regularly winning accolades and critical praise. But it was her 1933 starring role in Gustav Machatý’s Ecstasy that skyrocketed her into infamy.
Known as the first stimulation of an organism on screen, Ecstasy was touted as both smut and art house cinema. Lamarr would also has several short nude sequences in film, sending everyone from Hitler to the Will H. Hays into a frenzy. Many deemed it immoral and indecent, leading the film to be banned from numerous countries for its lewd depictions of sexuality and romance. Disillusioned, Lamarr returned to the stage, earning back the hearts of many, including the Nazi-sympathizing Austrian munitions mogul, Friedrich Mandl. Soon after, the young Jewish actress had married Mandl, a decision she quickly learned was a mistake. From his abrasive behavior to his controlling ways, Mandl was a torturous husband leading the young Lamarr to disguise herself as a maid, sewing all her jewelry in the lining of her coat, and slinking off into the night to join her parents’ friends in London.
And if you thought the story of Lamarr’s ascension to fame, fortune, and adoration ends there, Dean ensures that that is only the beginning. From her incredible feat of becoming a Hollywood star to her even greater accomplishment of inventing a new radio guidance system that was reliant on frequency hopping technology, Lamarr seems to have touched every facet of life in her eighty-five years on this Earth. And yet, it appears that Lamarr was often dogged by her good looks and natural charm, regularly being mistaken for a vapid girl with a pretty face. But as facts prove otherwise, Lamarr was a highly intelligent woman who demonstrated that looks and brains are not mutually exclusive.
As much as Lamarr’s life was incredulously heroic and action-packed, Dean somehow finds a way in which to examine each and every part of it with wondrous grace and attention. And while the film may have hackneyed sequences that do not shake the paradigms of documentary tradition, that does not take away from the work’s focus. Working on a well-balanced pace, Bombshell uses animation, candid interviews and primarily sourced voice overs from Lamarr herself to paint a detailed picture of the woman’s inspiring life. Even more commendable is Dean’s insistence to not shy away from the more unsavory aspects of her life–the marriage to a Nazi, the poorly performed plastic surgery, her unstable relationship with family. All of it is laid out to bare, making Bombshell a compelling documentary that seldom steps away from the complex.
You can catch Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story in cinemas on Friday, November 24
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