The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

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The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe Poster.jpg
Genre Drama
Biopic
Based onThe Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe book by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Screenplay byStephen Kronish (teleplay)
Directed by Laurie Collyer
Starring Kelli Garner
Susan Sarandon
Emily Watson
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Composer David Carbonara
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producersStephen Kronish
Damien Ganczewski
Keri Selig
Jonathan Koch
Steven Michaels
ProducersJoseph Boccia
Don Carmody
David Cormican
Production locations Ontario, Canada
CinematographyChristopher Manley
EditorsRon Wisman
Ron Wisman Jr.
Running time84 minutes
Production companiesIntuition Productions
Asylum Entertainment
Release
Original network Lifetime
Original releaseMay 30 (2015-05-30) 
May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31)

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe is a 2015 American drama miniseries on Marilyn Monroe. It stars Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon, Emily Watson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Eva Amurri Martino and was first aired on Lifetime on May 30 and 31, 2015. The (two-hour forty-seven minute) miniseries is based on The New York Times bestseller of the same name by J. Randy Taraborrelli. It was nominated for three Creative Arts Emmy Awards [1]

Contents

Plot

A chronicle of Marilyn Monroe's family life, her relationship with her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, and how she succeeded in hiding her most intimate secrets from the press and an invasive world.

Cast

Main characters

Supporting characters

Reception

Critical reception

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe garnered mixed reviews. Keith Ulrich of The Hollywood Reporter writes, "There's little that's surprising or inspired in Lifetime's two-part miniseries about iconic Hollywood celebrity Marilyn Monroe." [2] While, Brian Lowry of Variety writes, "What sets this latest rehash of the star's existence apart, marginally, is a knockout performance by Kelli Garner and, to a lesser degree, Susan Sarandon's turn as her mentally disturbed mother." [3] A positive review by Jordan Appugliesi of US Weekly states, "Surprise! It's Actually Good." [4] On Rotten Tomatoes the series has an approval of 55% based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Offering few revelations, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe treads the same well-worn path as many other Monroe biopics, despite an admirable performance by Kelli Garner". [5] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average". [6]

Accolades

AssociationCategoryRecipientResultRef
Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie Chris ManleyNominated
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or a Movie Cliona Furey
Cathy Shibley
Jacqueline Robertson Cull
Vincent Sullivan
Nominated
Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic) Jordan Samuel
Patricia Keighran
Susan Reilly LeHane
Nominated
Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries Laurie Collyer Nominated
Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Kelli Garner Nominated [7]
Prism Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Kelli Garner Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Susan Sarandon Nominated

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References

  1. "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" emmys.com July 18, 2015
  2. Uhlich, Keith (May 29, 2015). "'The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  3. Lowry, Brian (May 28, 2015). "TV Review: 'The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'". Variety . Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  4. Appugliesi, Jordan (May 31, 2015). "Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe Lifetime Movie Part 1 Recap: Surprise! It's Actually Good". Us Weekly . Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  5. Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe , retrieved September 16, 2018
  6. The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe , retrieved September 16, 2018
  7. "19th Annual TV Awards (2014–15) - Online Film & Television Association". www.oftaawards.com. Retrieved September 16, 2018.