Nothing draws me in like a good mystery—a true mystery that could be a reality to anyone. The documentary, The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (released on April 27th of this year), pulled me to want to know more about Monroe’s death. 

As dramatic music played in the background of the opening scene, the introduction of the film showed the beautiful landscape of Ireland. There, one of the investigators in Marilyn’s case pressed play on the tape recorder in front of him. Within the first few minutes, Marilyn’s successes flashed before the screen, and the multitude of plays, movies and news recordings the famous actress had been in was unreal. 

Though throughout the film, it wasn’t just focused on Marilyn Monroe. Every now and then, it would begin to tell the story of Hollywood and its male dominance during the time the actress had been alive. The documentary described Marilyn as the new symbol for “attention” from the other gender. 

I sat in amazement at what I was watching. Monroe had been an orphan and bounced through many homes, yet somehow fell into Hollywood’s unknown as she grew into a famous actress. The cinematography throughout the whole documentary is was kept me drawing closer and closer to my computer screen. The idea that there was something more to her case and investigation kept me grasped within the film the whole time. 

Each relationship Monroe built within her career was described in detail which made me realize that there was so much of her story many people didn’t know about. Watching the mood of the documentary go from seeing her happy actress smile to straight, sorrowed eyes made my empathy for her grow. Monroe had gotten caught in a series of events that would shape her life and how she viewed the Hollywood business and the people she was involved with. 

There was not much of a connection that I made to the documentary, but I connected to Monroe as she faced hardship in covering up her wounds with the world. I found that her abilities to be an actress impacted her both negatively and positively—she became big and famous from that but she also abused that skill and shielded herself from being able to live a longer life than she did. 

This documentary gave way to the fact that we all aspire to dreams at a young age but what comes with those dreams can be the obstacles of hurt or positive motivation. We can’t always shield ourselves from the dark around us, but we can persevere and intend to live in the present. 

Overall, I enjoyed the documentary as a whole, and if you are someone who finds true mysteries interesting, I recommend that you find the time to learn more about someone as famous as Marilyn Monroe.