Movie Review: "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women"

 When it comes to the post-Summer cinematic season, you can almost set your watch to when the biopics start rolling in. And why not? They are almost guaranteed to at least nab a few nominations come Oscar time, and both critics and audiences seem to enjoy them. However, every “Spotlight”, you get one “A Beautiful Mind” – one that takes a complex subject, but chooses to shield the blemishes in order to make the subject more accessible for wide audiences, a decision that often leads to controversy.

“Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” certainly is not shy about its subject. Taking an unflinching, uncompromising look at the creator of the most well-known female superhero, “Professor Marston” refuses to back down on telling the whole story, and is better for it.

The entire cast puts in performances worthy of Oscar gold. Luke Evans is nearly unrecognizable as the titular professor, choosing to abandon his debonair rogue persona for an intellectual, passionate man. Evans' transformation from action hero to dramatic actor is astounding to watch, and will, at the very least, open new doors for his already-impressive career.

Bella Heathcote is certainly not a household name right now, but, after this movie, eyes will certainly be on her. Adding softness and sweetness to some of the rougher elements, Heathcote makes a stellar turn, and should rightly be awarded for her role.

However, despite the title, the true star of the film is Rebecca Hall. Brash, blunt, and vulnerable, Hall's performance as Marston's wife has Oscar gold written all over it. Equal parts hilarious and heart-breaking, Hall is the consistent gem of the film, and truly earns the title of Wonder Woman.

Writer/director Angela Robinson takes a bizarre love story and origin story and makes it beautiful, despite the uglier elements. Robinson's flare for camerawork is amazing to watch alone, but it's her clear love for the characters and subject matter that flows through her script. Writing and directing work of this caliber is impressive on its own, but given the fact this is only Robinson's second feature film is almost unbelievable.

Yes, “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” deals with many subjects films rarely dare to tackle – such as polyamory and BDSM (the latter having a deep roots in the Wonder Woman mythos). However, largely due to Robinson's script, these salacious elements are shown as beautiful without compromising their integrity. But, even looking away from these aspects of the film, “Professor Marston” has proven itself as a heavy hitter this year just by being relevant. Not only was the timing of its release perfect, serving as a bookend to “Wonder Woman”, but also serving as a love letter for strong women and LGTBQ community, and a basis for teaching young boys to respect women, this film could not be more important right now.

 “Professor Marston and Wonder Women” deserves all the praise and Oscar potential it has coming to it. I highly recommend this movie.