(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
If fame is a product of desire and its ultimate affirmation is the movie, Cary Grant was the most desirable star of all. Some of Grant's most iconic films were made in the golden age of the Hollywood studios, and according to critic David Thomson, Grant was "the best and most important actor in the film's history."
As hinted at in Becoming Cary Grant by Mark Kidel, Grant was not easy to classify, neither on the basis of nationality, spoken language, class, gender and contemporary sexual norms – he was instead transcending in every way. When Audrey Hepburn in Charade seemingly somewhat annoyed, Grant asks, "Do you know what's wrong with you?", and then answers his own question with a big smile: "No Thing!" about him.
Created, not born. However charming it may sound, it does not mean that it is true: Not only his public persona, but also the name Cary Grant was constructed – and darkened a man who throughout his life struggled with his identity. No var Cary Grant – not even Cary Grant. Archie Leach was a "nobody would ever pay to see". Few Hollywood stars have incarnated the fame's constructed nature as perfectly as Grant did. Becoming Cary Grant.focuses precisely on what the title suggests: that one is not born like, but becomes a star through film
industry and media, and in that the actor himself builds and develops an attractive public persona. His famous statement: “Everyone wants to be Cary Grant; jeg will be Cary Grant 'seems to indicate that he also knew this, at least intuitively.
Grant was not easy to classify – he was surpassing in every way.
A beautiful experiment. The film gives a glimpse – which may be the only thing it can do – of the man behind the character. "For many years, I gently glanced behind the face of a man known as Cary Grant," he himself said, in this movie with the voice of Jonathan Pryce. "Protecting that facade was both an advantage and a disadvantage. If I couldn't look, how would anyone manage to look? "
In Kidel's documentary, the protagonist expresses himself through both words and pictures, as the film's main source is Grant's unpublished autobiography. This is written during and after his psychotherapeutic treatment with LSD, and extensive recordings that he himself has done. The intensity, vulnerability and touching melancholy of a man who is "trying to break down the facade" makes both the interviews and the somewhat unfortunate redramatisations feel secondary and only serves to tie the parts together. The environment associated with LSD therapy proves to be an appropriate starting point for Grant's story, as told in his own words. Kidel's combination of pictures and autobiographical reading has a strange lyrical effect and is a beautiful form experiment with a story that belongs to someone else. The most breathtaking, successful and inventive part of the film – and if that was all Becoming Cary Grant consisted of, it would have been absolutely wonderful – it would have turned out to be a brilliant experimental documentary.
Career. But Kidel merges footage from Grant's films – from the most iconic to his most obscure roles – with his biography in a remarkably good way. This gives a compelling and sincere impression, although illustrating a person's life through his or her art – film, theater, painting or literature – is a proven approach in documentary films. In addition, the audience gets an astonishing insight into Grant's career: from the age of 14 he joined a group of acrobats, via his first gorgeous lead roles on Broadway, and the disastrous first film rehearsals (where Grant played, as he was used to from the theater scene), to the roles that blast first-lovers to celebrities like Mae West, and finally to McCarey, Hawks and Hitchcock's films. All three saw Grant's special qualities, which made their films somewhat distinctive.
Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly, is Becoming Cary Grant especially striking because it makes a man born over 100 years ago appear alive to today's audience. This really is – as it was more common to put it at the time – the magic of the movie.
