''The Mystery of Natalie Wood'' is a two-part 2004

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

biographical film directed by

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

. Partly based on the biographies ''Natasha: the Biography of Natalie Wood'' written by

Suzanne Finstad Suzanne Finstad (born Suzanne Elaine Finstad September 14, 1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a bestselling American author, biographer, journalist, producer, and lawyer. Work pre-1990 Finstad received the Frank Wardlaw Prize in 1984 for liter ...

and ''Natalie & R.J.'' written by Warren G. Harris, the film chronicles the life and career of actress

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

, from her early childhood in the 1940s until her death in 1981.

Plot

Part 1

The film begins on November 28, 1981, on Catalina Island, California, where 43-year-old

(

Justine Waddell Justine Waddell (born 4 November 1975) is a South African-British former actress. She played roles in the 2006 film '' The Fall'' and 2005 film ''Chaos'' as well as Tess in the 1998 LWT adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and Estella ...

) falls off her yacht, ''Splendour'', and drowns. Flashing back to 1943, five-year-old, then named Natasha (Grace Fulton), grows up in a violent household in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

. Her overbearing mother, Maria Gurdin (

Alice Krige Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...

), is obsessed with making her daughter a film star. When a film is shooting in town, Maria arranges a role for Natasha. She kills a butterfly in order to get Natasha to cry on cue. Her performance impresses the director,

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Cent ...

(

John Noble John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...

), and a year later she reluctantly moves to Hollywood to start her career. Her mother dictates every career move, and gives her a new name: Natalie Wood. In 1946, Natalie is working on three films at a time, and is not allowed to enjoy spare time with her friends. Three years later, teenaged Natalie ( Elizabeth Rice) is unable to prevent her neglected older sister, Olga (Leanne Simic), from leaving home. While working on the set of '' The Green Promise'', Natalie breaks her wrist. Fearing that her daughter will lose roles if she has it treated, Maria rejects medical help. Natalie's wrist does not heal properly as a result. While in high school, 15-year-old Natalie falls in love with classmate Jimmy Williams (Jason Smith), and starts to rebel against her mother. Afraid that Natalie will get pregnant, Maria manipulates Natalie into breaking up with Jimmy. Jimmy shoots himself in a suicide attempt. Heartbroken, Natalie severs all ties with her mother. By the mid-1950s, she (Waddell) and her friend

Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...

(Sophie Mentis) decide that Natalie should play the female lead in ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social com ...

'' opposite James Dean (Nick Carpenter). In order to get the role, she allows herself to be seduced by director

Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features p ...

( Robert Taylor). Ray does not cast her initially, but her involvement in a car accident caused by Dennis Hopper (Jarrod Dean), changes his mind. Simultaneously, she auditions for director Roy Tremaine (Andy Rodoreda) to please her mother; he rapes her. Fearful for her career, she does not report the crime. She focuses on ''Rebel'', which is a great success. Natalie achieves stardom and becomes romantically involved with many Hollywood men. Worried about her many boyfriends, Maria arranges a date with

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

(

Michael Weatherly Michael Manning Weatherly Jr. (born July 8, 1968) is an American actor, producer, director, and musician, known for playing the roles of Anthony DiNozzo in the television series '' NCIS'' (2003–2016) and Logan Cale in '' Dark Angel'' (2000–2 ...

), an actor whom Natalie has adored since she was a child. Shortly before they are married, Natalie promises her mother that she will not have children with Robert, even though she wants to do so. By 1959, she distances herself from Robert and regularly meets with a therapist to discuss her troubled childhood and her frustrated desire for motherhood. Meanwhile, she works on ''

Splendor in the Grass ''Splendor in the Grass'' is a 1961 American period drama film produced and directed by Elia Kazan, from a screenplay written by William Inge. It stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty (in his film debut) as two high school sweethearts, naviga ...

'' in New York City with Elia Kazan (Christopher Pate). The film requires nudity, and she becomes upset when her malformed wrist is exposed for the first time. Another scene requires her to swim, forcing her to confront a traumatizing fear of drowning instilled in her by her mother. She eventually overcomes her fear and celebrates with her co-star

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

(

Matthew Settle Jeffrey Matthew Settle (born September 17, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for playing Captain Ronald Speirs on the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' and Rufus Humphrey on the CW teen drama series ''Gossip Girl''. Early life Settl ...

). Wagner becomes jealous of her interaction with other men. While filming ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', Robert announces that he wants a divorce because he never sees Natalie anymore; he is also jealous of her rise to stardom.

Part 2

The film continues to reflect on her marriage with Robert Wagner, as well as her relationship with Warren Beatty. Natalie's nightmare of drowning comes true, when in 1981 she falls off a boat and drowns in the freezing water.

Cast

Robert Wagner would later go on to play Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., the father of Michael Weatherly's character, on '' NCIS''.

Production

Director Bogdanovich was initially reluctant to produce a biopic, because he was unsatisfied about being the subject of a biopic himself, in ''

Star 80 ''Star 80'' is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning ''Village Voice'' article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian ''Playboy'' mo ...

'' (1983). He explained: "I didn’t know if I wanted to do it, because I knew the people a little bit. I’d met Natalie a few times, nodded at her at parties, and same thing with Robert Wagner. I also knew I didn’t like being portrayed in the films about

Dorothy Stratten Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten (February 28, 1960 – August 14, 1980), known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Playboy Playmate and actress, originally from Canada. Stratten was the ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month for August 1979 and Playm ...

. But then I decided: Somebody’s gonna do this, and I thought I’d be more sensitive because of my experiences. Besides, by then I had fallen in love with Natalie and her work. In '' Love With the Proper Stranger'', ''

Inside Daisy Clover ''Inside Daisy Clover'' is a 1965 American drama film based on Gavin Lambert's 1963 novel of the same name, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Natalie Wood. It follows a tomboy becoming a Hollywood actress and singer. Plot In 1936 Santa Mon ...

'', '' This Property Is Condemned'', her performances are brilliant, really brilliant. I realized she was really underrated as an actress — and that, up until then, I had been one of the people who underrated her." Parts of the film were shot around the Palm Beach area in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The film was shot in early 2003.

Reception

'' Slate'' magazine called the film a "standard" production, and criticized Bogdanovich for using real-life interview footage in the film: "Bogdanovich layers in archival material like newspaper headlines and stills of the real Wood, as well as talking-head interviews with her surviving relatives and friends, a choice that brings little to the proceedings, since whatever stories the witnesses tell are subsequently presented in painfully literal tableaux." Its reviewer praised the cast, though, for its performances: "Justine Waddell is competent and appealing; she's no Judy Davis, but she avoids the biopic trap of overly mannered impersonation. Indistinguishable Ken dolls Michael Weatherly and Matthew Settle offer uncanny vocal impressions of Robert Wagner and Warren Beatty, while Alice Krige (Star Trek's Borg Queen) is perfect as Maria, Natalie's monstrous, self-mythologizing Russian mother, who pulls the wings off butterflies to get little Nat to cry on cue."

References

External links

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