A documentary in search of a subject

It was widely criticized as little more than a propaganda piece. ‘Melania’ is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Digital editor Dan Jensen watched all 104 minutes, so you don’t need to.

THERE IS A MOMENT melania Where the First Lady said her inaugural gown would one day end up in a museum.

This is one of the few moments in the film where anything remotely resembling ambition appears on screen.

Brett Ratner‘s melania is being marketed as an intimate documentary portrait of one of the most enigmatic First Ladies in modern history. This is not it. It is not investigative, revealing, or even particularly intriguing. Calling this a documentary feels generous. It’s closer to a prestige trailer, wrapped in expensive cinematography and presented with the narrative depth of an Instagram carousel.

At the 104th minute, melania Somehow he manages the remarkable feat of following his subject almost everywhere without learning almost anything about him.

By the end of the movie, viewers will know that Melania Trump loves fashion, interiors, expensive things, and being surrounded by expensive things as she discusses other expensive things. Beyond that? The closet is pretty bare.

This is a woman who has lived one of the strangest public lives imaginable. Immigrant model. The wife of a real estate mogul became president. First Lady during one of the most divisive political periods in modern American history. The subject of endless speculation and tabloid mythology.

Yet melania he approaches all of this with the urgency of a luxury real estate tour.

The film mostly follows Melania wandering around immaculate rooms, preparing events, sitting in cars, getting off planes, and maintaining one of about two facial expressions present in the Trump cinematic universe: “moderate approval” and “slightly harsher moderate approval.”

What’s odd is that in the film’s closing moments, she lists her numerous accomplishments during her time as First Lady. One immediately wonders: Why wasn’t any of this in the movie?

These achievements, initiatives, and public projects were apparently seen as less interesting than long-term movements between buildings.

The result feels oddly humiliating; not because he’s asserting anything controversial, but because he assumes that viewers will be pleased to watch the extraordinary wealth and power pass in front of the camera for almost two hours.

Private jets. Large estates. Motorcycles. Infinite wealth. The effect is less insight and more “look what we have”.

Even moments that should carry emotional or historical weight are strangely mishandled. In the scenes surrounding former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral, the spotlight shifts to Melania as she reflects on her mother’s death a year earlier. What should be a serious national reflection becomes strangely self-referential.

Political framing does not work any better. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ broadcasts are edited with all the sophisticated objectivity of cable news at election time.

Then there’s the matter of the movie itself.

melania It marks Brett Ratner’s first directorial effort in over a decade following multiple sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied. Ratner’s return alone warrants scrutiny. Add in Amazon’s reported US$40 million (AU$56 million) licensing deal (the highest price ever paid for a documentary), extensive marketing spend and Melania Trump’s editorial involvement, and critics inevitably began to ask whether this was documentary filmmaking or reputation management on a Hollywood budget.

Critics slammed the film, describing it as propaganda, an infomercial, and a commercial. ‘journey into the void‘. Frankly, they are not wrong.

The frustrating thing is that there could be a really interesting movie here.

Melania Trump remains an opaque figure. Was he reluctant? Strategic? Is it detached? Are you playing a role? Resisting someone? The movie doesn’t ask any of these questions.

In its place, melania Acts as if closeness is enough. Move the camera closer to the power and the meaning will magically appear.

Not.

For all his access, money and polish, melania It feels strangely empty. This is a lavishly produced shell, a documentary, just as a showroom mannequin is a biography.

He is nicely dressed. Perfectly lit.

And it’s completely empty.

‘Melania’ is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. We do not recommend you waste your time on this.

You can follow digital editor Dan Jensen on Bluesky @danjensen.bsky.social or check out his podcast, Dan and Frankie Go to Hollywood. To follow Independent Australia on Bluesky @independaus.bsky.social and on Facebook HERE.

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