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Critics aren’t thrilled with Netflix’s recently released documentary about Michelle Obama, titled “Becoming.”
The documentary, which dropped on May 6, was a surprise announcement in late April from the streaming platform in conjunction with the Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. Directed by Nadia Hallgren, it follows the former first lady on her 2018 book tour in which she traveled across the country speaking at various events.
The film features not only events that Obama spoke at, but also smaller, more intimate conversations with everyday people. While many hoped the documentary would either give a rare, unfiltered look into the personal lives of the former first family or even position Michelle Obama in a favorable position to enter the political realm herself, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
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Now that reviews of “Becoming” are in, critics found it to be, by and large, a watered-down, polished and glossy look at the former first lady that took no political stance and had no meaningful message.
“It won’t surprise anyone that it plays like an extended promotional video, a cross between close-contact hero worship and inspirational infomercial,” Variety wrote in its review. “There are no big revelations here, no gotcha moments or intimate scenes in which Hallgren’s subject lets down her guard, but the target audience hardly expects anything tougher. Far more than the memoir, the film presents a manicured version of the way Michelle Obama sees herself — and yet, even such a carefully image-managed impression can be telling, since it diverges so significantly from the way the world perceives her.”
Other outlets criticized the movie for focusing on a major political figure that somehow manages to dodge taking a stance on any real political agenda or message.
“‘Becoming’ doesn’t pull back the White House curtain that much, and, unlike ‘Becoming’ the book there’s almost no mention of her husband’s successor — except in warning of the nation we are and need to own up to,” Deadline writes of the documentary’s political appeal. “Nor, for that matter, is the candidate many thought would be Barack Obama’s successor brought up, or other political luminaries – it is as if the film and its subject are extending the protective force field that surrounds any First Family to silence the sidekicks, so to speak. There is the obligatory visit to the childhood home, the long talking-head stare by the star that contemporary documentaries love to show intimacy, and some glory shots of the accession and the two terms in office.”
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Some critics even found “Becoming” to be a further attempt from the Obama family to pivot to a position of cultural relevance rather than political relevance.
Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ documentary was panned by critics.
(Isaac Palmisano/Netflix via AP)
The New York Times wrote: “The film is being billed as a ‘rare and up-close look’ at the former first lady’s life. But, whereas the memoir — through its deeply personal stories about Obama’s existential struggles in young adulthood and the pains of a miscarriage later on — offered a partial illumination of a woman who critics and admirers alike have tried to understand for years, the documentary feels more routine. It hits all the notes of a megastar choosing to share her life with the public: selective biographical moments and star-studded guest appearances, plus a healthy dose of motivational messaging about the virtues of education and the holistic ownership of personal narratives.”
Meanwhile, other outlets have made the point that the documentary is simply an effort for the former first family to show that their post-White House personas are non-controversial.
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“The film feels very much like an artifact of the Obamas’ attempted retreat from the global stage in favor of private lives producing socially relevant nonfiction films,” notes Vulture. “‘Becoming’ is an act of legacy burnishing, no doubt, but it doesn’t feel like it’s laying the groundwork for a future campaign from its subject, no matter how adored it makes her look. Instead, it’s more of an insistent feature-length case for the family having done, and given, enough.”
