ANNA NICOLE SMITH: YOU DONT KNOW ME – Review by Justina Walford
Ursula Macfarlane’s documentary You Don’t Know Me about the glamorous life and tragic end of supermodel and early reality star Anna Nicole Smith is a poignant journey taking us through the upheavals and complexities of a woman who seemed to have it all. For those who watched Smith’s rise and fall in real-time, there is a temptation to assume we already know the whole story. A woman whose life was so exposed to the world hid so little, but we soon learn she also used that exposure to manipulate media and those around her. Macfarlane’s film offers a nuanced perspective on Smith’s story, and successfully tries to fit the many facets of such a layered life into just under two hours.
The film opens with heartfelt interviews with old friends and family woven in with existing video. Missy, Anna Nicole’s long time friend is the prominent narrator in the beginning, showing us a young woman who was naïve and ambitious in their early days at a strip club in Houston. Anna Nicole Smith, then known as Vicky Lynn, is a loving single mom trying to make life better for herself and her son. Missy is our thread of humanity through the film, talking about a woman she still loves dearly.
One of the many dramatic turns in the film is Smith meeting her father for the first time. It is not only a roller coaster, but also a hint of how little we do know of the real woman. Macfarlane, not so subtly, shows us Smith’s many issues stemming from being abandoned by her father. So the reunion hits hard, he with his Elvis haircut, Anna in pigtails, as Smith attempts a lasting reunion. This complex and sadly short lived emotional space is all the more awkward with the garish opulence from limo pick up to Playboy mansion photos. It is so clear to us that fame and wealth taints every possible positive moment of Smith’s life. Continue reading on THE FEMALE GAZE
ABOUT JUSTINA WALFORD
An award-winning writer of screen and stage, Justina Walford was also the Founder and Festival Director of Women Texas Film Festival for the life of the fest and she was programming director of Oxford Film Festival for two years. A lover of adrenaline-filled movies since she could understand the word “zombie,” she is particularly drawn to strong women’s voices in alternative genres such as horror, action, and science fiction.
