The Genius In Michelle Obama Documentary

Michelle Obama’s opening appearance this week at the U.S. Democratic National Convention called to mind the genius in the 2020 Netflix biography Becoming, which yesterday received four Emmy nominations.

In the documentary Becoming, (same title as her 2018 memoir), Obama’s physicality comes through the screen in a way it can’t through print: she spontaneously dances, chats up students in her down-home locution, and pounds out a popular jazz tune on the piano.

Interestingly, Indiewire labelled the film “bland”, in the sense that director Nadia Hallgren’s interviews and verite footage of book signings didn’t reveal the deep inner workings of a world-famous person.

Critics leveled similar charges at Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (Netflix, 2019). Both portraits could be described as semi-hagiographies, especially if you expect directors to ask tough questions.

But some biographies are simply entertaining. And in this case, “inspiring”, says Rotten Tomatoes.

That said–and even though it was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary–Becoming could have benefited from a tip that Jilann Spitzmiller, verite director extraordinaire, shared with me.

Try to get permission to film all day, for as many days as you can, with no meal breaks, no time-outs, no private phone calls; (bathroom breaks allowed).

Eventually, if there’s no escape hatch, subjects will let down their guard and, for better or worse, reveal their authentic selves.