Robert Greene's Actress is an engrossing and layered documentary which takes an intricate look at Brandy Burne, a once promising, up-and-coming actor who had a recurring role on HBO's The Wire. Brandy gave up her career to start a family, but as the years have passed she begins to suffer from what can only be described as a existential crisis of priorities, leading her to attempt to re-start her career as an Actress. Blending melodrama and cinema verite elements, Robert Greene's Actress is a bold and unflinching portrait of a woman trapped between the selfish tendencies required to become an actress and the selfless aspects of motherhood. Brandy is a woman who desperately desires a creative outlet from her domesticated world, with the documentary giving some semblance of that to her. Speaking to the desire for independence in a domesticated household, Brandy is a character who may come off as almost narcissistic at times, but as Greene further examines this woman it becomes apparent that she is struggling with identity. This is what makes Actress so fascinating, with Robert Greene using Brandy's identity crisis to examine the predetermined 'roles' we all play in society, with Brandy herself seemingly attempting to play this 'role' as a good mother and wife, while simultaneously attempting to fulfill her own personal needs and desires. There is a quiet battle raging inside Brandy, with Robert Greene offering an intimate window into the second guessing, and conflicting thoughts, as she attempts to make sense out of her situation. Actress is a beautifully composed documentary, with Green using lighting and composition that beckons back to Douglas Sirk's prestigious melodramas, giving the whole film a dream-like feel, almost as if we are drifting in the consciousness of Brandy herself. Offering a deeply personal look at the conflict between domesticated life and individuality, Robert Greene's Actress is a meditative and reflective documentary that takes a very unique perspective at examining the roles we all play in life.
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June 2023
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