I really liked Annette Bening in films like Regarding Henry and An American President, so I am a little surprised I didn’t catch this film closer to its release date. It is an excellent movie, well written and with strong acting across the board. The drama queen movie star is nearly a movie cliche, but it isn’t overplayed here by Bening or the script. M

When movies are based on real people I tend to do a little research out of curiosity, and Gloria Grahame’s life story is an interesting one. She made medical decisions that were destined to shorten her life, but one can argue that it reflected her overall attitude and the fact that she packed the days of her life more than most of us manage to do. And I was quite surprised to learn she had been merely 16 years old when she played bombshell blonde Violet on It’s a Wonderful Life. She seemed to be one of those people the camera loves.

Of course this movie is based on a memoir written by Gloria’s younger lover Peter Turner who, as happens in other biopics, is given a cameo appearance in this movie. Of course, he was an actor in hos own right, so it wasn’t an empty gesture.