“Melania,” the documentary film about Melania Trump, is a movie steeped in controversy, making headlines and sparking heated debate long before it opened in multiplexes nationwide.
It is likely the most expensive documentary film ever produced, costing a reported $75 million ($40 million to produce and $35 million to market and promote). Melania Trump, the movie’s producer and star, was paid $28 million.
The bidding war for the project began a year ago with Jeff Bezos and Amazon gaining the rights. Speculation arose that Bezos was attempting to curry favor with the White House. Incidentally, the movie’s release coincides with the recent announcement that Bezos was eliminating 16,000 jobs at Amazon and reports that Bezos was contemplating major layoffs at The Washington Post.
As details of the production were released, it was revealed that the film’s director would be Brett Ratner, who had been out of work since 2017 following accusations of sexual misconduct with several prominent Hollywood actresses. More recently, photos of Ratner posing with Jeffrey Epstein and several unidentified underage women have surfaced.
“Melania” looked to be Ratner’s splashy return. His earlier work included movies like “Red Dragon” (2002), the “Rush Hour” movies (1998, 2001 and 2007) and a short list of music videos starring Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson and Madonna.
Ratner brought aboard some of Hollywood’s top cinematographers and began his effort to create an intimate chronicle offering a glimpse into the life of Melania Trump in the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration. It would offer rare insight into the life of the mysterious, media-shy first lady, who seemed to exist in the shadows of the Trump presidency.
To its credit, the film delivers on the glitz and glamor of the rich and famous. The opening scenes (to Martin Scorsese’s favorite Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter”) show Melania’s departure, by motorcade, from Mar-a-Lago to her private jet.
It begins with the first of many repeated shots of her feet and famous stiletto heels, setting the stage for what becomes a Melania Music Video. Other notable tunes include Melania’s favorite, Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean,” to which she sings along on a limo ride while wearing oversized fashion shades.
“Melania” is all about fashion and style. The former model has an eye for detail as shown in multiple wardrobe fittings. She presides over the selection of embossed invitations and the myriad decisions related to the scheduled banquets, lavish parties and “candlelight deenars” (as pronounced with her lingering Slovenian accent).
Through it all, Melania looks flawlessly attractive in every shot, including the many extreme closeups. Ratner and his crew more than earn their money, taking Melania’s fashion model persona to new heights, set against a backdrop of conspicuous opulence, splendor and wealth.
Though it all sounds exciting, what we are shown are endless meetings that essentially provide a crash course in extravagant, major event planning. “Melania” is a movie that quickly bogs down with beautiful but boring minutia, an observation shared by journalists overseas.
A scathing review in the British newspaper The Independent reads, “The First Lady is a preening, scowling void of pure nothingness in a ghastly bit of propaganda.”
It’s a harsh comment, but it underscores the fact that “Melania” is less a documentary film than a propaganda film. Some have even drawn comparisons to Leni Riefenstahl’s infamous 1935 documentary about Adolph Hitler’s rise to power. While it may be unfair to compare “Melania” to “Triumph of the Will,” it can be characterized as a triumph of style over substance, for the purpose of political branding and image building.
Watch: MELANIA | Official Trailer
In the end, we learn very little about Melania Trump. She remains an enigma. The footage we are shown is tightly scripted and staged for the cameras (despite the inclusion of occasional, faked, 8mm home movie style clips). It is all tightly controlled and carefully packaged.
The release of the movie has been plagued with problems. Rolling Stone reported that two-thirds of the New York film crew requested to have their names stricken from the credits. There were angry complaints about the director’s unruly behavior on set.
Perhaps the biggest marketing disaster was the release date of the film, in the wake of recent major news events relating to Venezuela, Greenland, the NATO alliance and the brutality that unfolded on the streets of Minneapolis. The collective impact threatened to overshadow the good intentions of a warm and fuzzy, fluff film, meant to generate positive PR for the White House and boost sagging approval ratings.
In the end, all that “Melania” offers is an opportunity to stare through the windows of monied mansions and gilded banquet halls, with our noses pressed against the glass, observing the lives of pampered, powerful people from a distance.
“Melania” came in third at the box office its opening weekend, earning $7 million. The horror flick “Send Help” was No. 1, earning $20 million, and the low-budget sci-fi “Iron Lung” came in at No. 2, earning an estimated $18 million.
“Melania” is a $75 million, Amazon-funded, vanity project being pitched as a behind-the-scenes documentary film about the first lady and the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
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