My Mom Jayne

Reviews

Brent Marchant
It’s curiously ironic that the search to learn more about a loved one you barely knew turns out to be a journey of discovery about oneself. Nevertheless, such was the case for actress Marisla Hargitay, daughter of screen legend Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), who directed this revealing new HBO documentary about her relationship (or lack thereof) with the famous mother she lost in a tragic car accident when she was only three years old. Mansfield, one of the most visible movie idols of the 1950s and ʼ60s, was molded by the Hollywood star-making system into one of the era’s prototypical blonde bombshells in the same vein as Marilyn Monroe, often playing roles as a dimwitted but provocative sex symbol. Despite this typecasting, however, Mansfield had aspirations to be a serious actress, one capable of much more substantive parts. She also looked to make use of her underrated talents as an accomplished violin and piano virtuoso, capabilities that were often significantly downplayed as part of her monodimensional studio packaging. She was also a doting mother to her children – at least to her first three born. As the youngest, Mariska frequently received less attention than her siblings, which is partly why she believed, as she got older, that she hardly knew her mother during the short time they had together. As the film shows, however, Mariska arrived on the scene when her mother was undergoing her share of personal issues, having married three times and experienced a number of other turbulent relationships that often left Mansfield’s youngest sidelined. This documentary is thus a search for the filmmaker to learn more about the past she barely knew and why it unfolded as it did. Mansfield is brought back to life through an array of archive footage, interviews with Hargitay’s three elder siblings and her mother’s longtime publicist, and a revealing excavation into a family storage locker (closed off since 1969) in which artifacts of the actress’s life are uncovered, painting a telling picture of Jayne’s storied life and career. Through this investigatory process, Hargitay begins to understand why her mother’s life – and, consequently, her own life – turned out as it did. The picture thus provides an insightful, intimate, highly personal portrait of a Hollywood icon who, like Monroe, had very different public and private personas, one that was quite well known (albeit somewhat illusory) and one that few people outside of her inner circle (as well as some who were even within it) knew little about. The result is consequently both eye-opening for viewers, as well as the filmmaker herself. “My Mom Jayne” makes for a captivating watch in terms of how much it unexpectedly exposes about someone whom most in the public thought they knew, not to mention the inherent surprises that emerge as Mansfield’s personal story unfolds on screen. Admittedly, there are points in the film where the flow of the timeline of Mansfield’s life isn’t always presented as clearly as one might think it should have been, but there’s a reason for that to a certain degree, one that becomes clear as her story plays out. On balance, though, this endearing memoir meticulously pieces together the challenging but heart-rending relationship of a mother and daughter whose connection has taken years to surface and with which the filmmaker has struggled to understand and come to terms. Indeed, life may not always be what we believe it to be, but, then, sometimes it also turns out to be something unexpectedly special. That’s the journey Hargitay takes through this film, and moviegoers should appreciate her willingness to share that profoundly personal exploration with the rest of us, especially if it helps to shed light on our own experiences in the same way that this odyssey has done for her.
Movie Recommendation
- STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie2023-01-20A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?More...
- Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction2013-09-11An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.More...
- Familiar Touch2025-06-20Familiar Touch is a coming of (old) age film. It follows an octogenarian woman’s transition to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting desires and self-narratives amidst her shifting age identity and memory.More...
- Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore2025-06-20In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.More...
- Mandy2018-09-13The Shadow Mountains, 1983. Red and Mandy lead a loving and peaceful existence; but when their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.More...
- The Old Guard 22025-07-01Andy and her team of immortal warriors fight with renewed purpose as they face a powerful new foe threatening their mission to protect humanity.More...
- Fountain of Youth2025-05-19A treasure-hunting mastermind assembles a team for a life-changing adventure. But to outwit and outrun threats at every turn, he'll need someone even smarter than he is: his estranged sister.More...
- Hachi: A Dog's Tale2009-06-08A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.More...
- A Quiet Place2018-04-03A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.More...
- Anatomy of a Fall2023-08-23A woman is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness.More...
- M3GAN 2.02025-06-25After the underlying tech for M3GAN is stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, M3GAN's creator Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal.More...
- Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
- Poor Things2023-12-07Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.More...
- Psycho1960-06-22When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.More...
- Hereditary2018-06-07Following the death of the Leigh family matriarch, Annie and her children uncover disturbing secrets about their heritage. Their daily lives are not only impacted, but they also become entangled in a chilling fate from which they cannot escape, driving them to the brink of madness.More...
- Jeanne du Barry2023-05-16The life of Jeanne Bécu, who was born as the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished seamstress in 1743 and went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV to become his last official mistress.More...
- Interstellar2014-11-05The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.More...
- Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
- Saltburn2023-11-16Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.More...
- Blink Twice2024-08-21When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s something sinister hiding beneath the island’s lush façade.More...