You are here:

Listen to Me Marlon

Name: Listen to Me Marlon
Director: Stevan Riley
Released: 2015
Duration: 103 min

Representation Score

6.0/10

Good

2015

Unrated

Director

Stevan Riley

Runtime

103 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Listen to Me Marlon is a sophisticated deconstruction of the Hollywood mythos. By using Brando's own archival voice, the film prioritizes personal truth and subjective experience over traditional biographical structures. The documentary achieves progressive value through its strong anti-establishment stance and its focus on racial justice. It goes beyond simple inclusion by making Brando's advocacy for underrepresented groups a core component of his legacy. However, the film remains limited by its focus on a singular male perspective. While it challenges patriarchal studio systems, the narrative often centers on Brando's role at the expense of broader representation.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Listen to Me Marlon have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on Brando's straight relationships and his history. It lacks prominent LGBTQ+ identities or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight.

How does Listen to Me Marlon portray gender?

Fair

The documentary examines Brando's refusal to conform to Hollywood's masculine stereotypes. However, women are often shown through the lens of Brando's personal journey rather than as independent individuals.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Listen to Me Marlon?

Good

Brando’s involvement with the Civil Rights Movement and Native American culture is central to the film. His advocacy for underrepresented groups is highlighted as a key part of his identity.

How does Listen to Me Marlon represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film criticizes Western institutions and the Hollywood studio system. It highlights Brando's unconventional ethics and his resistance to traditional capitalist structures as acts of personal freedom.

Does Listen to Me Marlon include disability representation?

Minimal

There is insufficient evidence to evaluate the depiction of visible or invisible disabilities within this documentary.

Present on Screen

Strong emphasis on racial justice and Brando's support for the Civil Rights Movement.
Effective critique of the Hollywood studio system and traditional capitalist structures.
Prioritizes personal truth and subjective experience through unique archival audio.

Limited or Absent

Lacks prominent LGBTQ+ representation or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.
Women are frequently framed through Brando's perspective rather than as independent figures.
Insufficient information regarding the representation of disabilities.

Official Synopsis

With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.

How are these scores produced? →