We’re just under two weeks away from the start of the Cannes Film Festival, and one thing the organizers like to do every year is highlight documentaries or films about moviemakers. This year, one of the most compelling is “Becoming Cary Grant,” which brings the dark side of the beloved actor into focus.
Directed by Mark Kidel, the film takes a look at the traumas, anxieties, and insecurities of the Hollywood icon, who beneath his dazzling smile and quick wit, was plagued by doubts and pain. Speaking for Grant is Jonathan Pryce, who reads the voiceover narration. Here’s the official synopsis:
Cary Grant, one of Hollywood’s greatest stars, was troubled most of his life with self-doubt and insecurity due to childhood trauma. In his fifties he began a long course of treatment, taking LSD to exorcise his demons. Using words from his unpublished autobiography, and newly-discovered personal footage he shot with a film-maker’s eye, Cary Grant explores his long journey from childhood poverty to global fame, and from darkness out into the light. In this film we discover for the first time a different Cary Grant, the man behind the mask of subtle charm and suave sophistication that he wore to hide his insecurities. This is a story of a man in search of himself, on a quest to find the love that eluded him most of his life.
Featuring a score by Portishead‘s Adrian Utley, “Becoming Cary Grant” will go from Cannes to Showtime, airing on the network on June 9th.
