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Somebody: The Reckless Life And Remarkable Career Of Marlon Brando (2008)

by Stefan Kanfer(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0571244122 (ISBN13: 9780571244126)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Faber

review 1: I thought Kanfer`s Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando was very articulate and well written. It is obvious that a lot of research went into the writing of this book. However, my problem is that it was way too depressing and centred more around the recklessness than the remarkable. I could hardly read from chapter to chapter without feeling total despair and impending doom lurking around every corner. On one hand, one could say, well, the truth is the truth. Nonetheless, there are many different dimensions to any given situation. Brando was difficult, Brando was disorganized, Brando was unprepared and Brando was self-centred. Surely, given Brando’s intelligence and experience, there was more to the story than these often one-sided interpreta... moretions. That said, there were moments of redemption for Brando, but they were few and far between. It’s my opinion that there was too much negativity written about the man who was far more sensitive and complex. As well, the treatment alone by the press was another element of the book that perturbed me. For example, after The Missouri Breaks opened, one reviewer stated: ``Marlon Brando at fifty-two has the sloppy belly of a sixty-two year old, the white hair of a seventy-two year old, and the total lack of discipline of a precocious twelve year old.`` The book is inundated with constant insults and disrespect for the man. It is no wonder to me that Brando loved to curl up on the couch with his dog Tim and block out a world that judged, criticized and scrutinized him on a constant basis. All the drama aside,unless Brando visits me from the afterlife to tell me otherwise, I will not let the negativity permeate his genius and passion.
review 2: The book was more even and fair than many other Brando biographies. Any criticisms I have are more toward some shoddy family research and a lack of some easily available public information. (example: Rebecca is not Tarita's daughter as he mentions a few times. And that Dad [Sam Gilman] isn't mentioned at all even though it's in the public record that Marlon, Dad and Wally Cox had their ashes spread together. Dad also appeared in many movies with Marlon starting with his first, "The Men.") Minor critiques however. less

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