Deep in “The Last Movie Stars” – a six-episode documentary series on HBO Max directed by Ethan Hawke – Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward appeared on the cover of the 1980 issue of McCall Magazine. In the title, his name comes first, then hers, then a reference to their “very special marriage.”
This may come as a surprise, even with the order of the names, Newman’s face forcing Woodward on the bottom half of the cover, makes perfect sense. With films like “Cool Hand Luke” and “The Hustler” in canon, and Newman smiling sweetly across every aisle to embellish American power, the scope of his fame made the world see the accomplished Woodward as his wife before she became an artist. But “special”? really? The couple’s marriage was widely discussed and covered in the press; They frequently worked together and appeared as Tom and Rita, the vision of a successful marriage, Hollywood style.
Hawke lacks access to his subjects: Newman died in 2008, and Woodward lived with Alzheimer’s for many years. But he finds a way forward. During “The Last Movie Stars,” named after Oscar-winner Gore Vidal, Hawke builds the case, first, that Newman and Woodward used art to explore their relationship. Even more exciting, Hawke conveys the common but unequal sacrifice made by both spouses so that their long-standing partnership is a greater entity than either could be on their own. It ends with the logical headline: The couple lived in public, but had little-known insider views that Hooke’s series is only now highlighting.
Newman, who struggled with alcohol abuse, and who viewed himself and Woodward as “two orphans” from their first encounter, used a planned diary to come to a better understanding of himself. For reasons obscure perhaps even to him, he eventually burned the tapes, although some copies survive. A stranger to the family, Hawke recruits notable friends to narrate and comment on these texts, giving insight into the thinking of the stars. Here, George Clooney plays Paul, with Laura Linney as Joan.
There is a vibration that heats up and disperses; The early COVID reactions of Hawke’s friends meeting on Zoom can feel as nostalgic as the photos of young Newman and Woodward. But this intimacy ultimately fits two stars whose lives and images in the Connecticut countryside were rooted in the authenticity of the performance. And Hawke’s ups and downs—at one point, he confesses to his daughter (and “Stranger Things” actor) Maya that he’s figuring out what the project is about as he makes it—is an interesting matchup with a couple who have recorded their most personal thoughts about each other.
These thoughts can burn: Lenny, as Joanne, contemplates spending Christmas Eve preparing gifts alone, after her husband, known to the public as a devoted family man, drank himself insane. Or they could be feeling anxious, as we see in Clooney Paul after son Scott Newman’s death from drug use. Many of Newman’s children give loving but candid assessments of their parents, with a daughter from Newman’s first aborted marriage saying, “I can feel disgusted with my father when I think of my mother.” (Woodward tells us that all of her children are adorable, but she might not choose to sacrifice her artistic self for fatherhood if she could live life again—a very complicated idea.)
However, what is evident here is not malice but the desire to think things through, and the feeling that marriage, if fully realized, is the process of understanding oneself better through the eyes of others. That Newman and Woodward do this often on screen is a bonus. Hook and editor Barry Poulterman cleverly orchestrated the shots, with the two partners working generously in layers. and Mrs. Bridge, “Professional victories belated due to grief.
Newman is a star through the ages, and the real pain we learn he felt and caused adds shadow and dimension to our understanding of it. For many, Woodward will be more blurry, and it’s her story that will break viewers’ hearts. Deep into the couple’s public life, Woodward accepts an acting award presented to her by her husband; The event found a way to direct the spotlight away from her even in her triumph. “It’s not that easy being husband to a famous movie star,” Newman quipped as the crowd snarled. By overturning the expectation that Woodward is the star’s positive, the joke carries with it a real sting.
Hawke is a great choice for this project: For one thing, his marriage to movie star, Uma Thurman, ended in divorce, grieving notes about a certain type of creative support. (He remarried, and his wife, Ryan Hawke, appears on camera and is credited as producer.) Moreover, Hooke’s image is that of a perennial student, devoted in earnest to honing his craft, in compelling contrast to Newman’s faded charm.
This does give something special though: Hook seems baffled by what it would take to make stardom, and marriage, seem so easy, even with both partners rowing crazily under the surface. This documentary series may not convince you that its subjects were the last movie stars. Their mastery of showing what they want the world to see feels quite contemporary. But they are extraordinarily talented – after spending six hours in their company, you will leave “The Last Movie Stars” wanting more.
All episodes of “The Last Movie Stars” will be released on HBO Max on Thursday, July 21.
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