Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) - Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) - User Reviews - IMDb
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7/10
The got me in the seats because of Wonder Woman, but I stayed because it was a unique movie about love.
subxerogravity17 October 2017
I had a feeling that the title was propaganda to get me into the seats. After all, Wonder Woman was one of 2017's best pictures, so I figure the title of this movie (as well as the well done poster) was a way to get butts into the seats. Not that I want my money back, cause it was an excellent movie. It was lots of fun and it made me chuckle a lot of times, but if your here because you want to learn more about Wonder Woman, the movie is not designed like that specifically.

What I knew about William Marston before was that he created Wonder Woman (right!), the same guy who created Wonder Woman created the lie detector test (But the movie does point out how much his wife contributed to this) and that the original Wonder Woman comics was filled with images of bonding and S&M (Which according to the movie visualized Marston's theories on human behavior) . What I did not know is that this guy was in a three way relationship with his wife and one of his students. This part of the movie seems to take center stage above anything else.

Once again ,I'm not complaining, cause it made for one of the most interesting love stories I've ever seen. Not really into romance movies, and you can make an argument that it's not, but what stands out for me in this film is a story about three people trying to be in a loving relationship with one another in a world that's still not really ready for what is going on here. So, it was a romance film done differently, under a mask of  the drama and the biography( How very Superhero-like of them).

http://cinemagardens.com/?p=1732
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8/10
Puts 50 Shades firmly in the shade...
JRmf17 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Raw, gutsy, confronting, bullsh*t free. 50 Shades teases and promises much but barely touches on core material which here is so openly dealt with.

I'm pretty open-minded, but the very unconventional values depicted here are so frank and honest I would feel awkward watching this with most people who wouldn't be so inclined, and who would almost certainly turn away in disgust.

Marston's advocated DISC Dominance Inducement Submission Compliance theory and used comic book character Wonder Woman with its overtly sadomasochistic themes to portray how women can be powerful. His polyamorous relationship with wife Elizabeth and mistress Olive, and the women with each other, is something which would still not be widely accepted even today.

If you're jaded with most movies and want something to challenge and wake you up, watch this!
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7/10
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
WubsTheFadger15 April 2018
Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

The film shows the story of how Wonder Woman became to be. It is a story that should seem mundane, but Angela Robinson makes it exciting and real. The story is full of extremely sexual dialogue, moments, and visuals. The film is a great character study and also has a good amount of humor spattered throughout.

The acting is the best part of the film. Rebecca Hall, Luke Evans, and Bella Heathcote all perform phenomenally. Rebecca Hall delivers probably the best performance of her career as a narcissistic woman who is also brilliant.

The pacing is mostly good. The runtime is also a little overlong.

Pros: Exciting and real story, great character study, some good humor, amazing acting by Rebecca Hall, good overall acting, and a good ending

Cons: Some slow pacing and an overlong runtime

Overall Rating:.7.3
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8/10
Rebecca Hall is a Revelation
bkrauser-81-31106415 October 2017
With some exception, Hollywood pretty much makes two distinct kinds of biopics. The first kind are the ones that almost seem obligatory – your Gandhi's (1982), your Lincoln's (2012) and the upcoming Darkest Hour (2017); movies about historical giants who did truly incredible things with their lives, incredible things that should be projected (and even embellished) on the silver screen for the world to see. Then there are the ones about the others – your oddballs, your misfits – the characters that history books often ignore but are nevertheless important in the way our world is shaped.

Professor Marston is certainly one of the latter folk. Outside of DC comic devotees and the odd discredited crime scene investigator swearing by the validity of the lie detector, William Moulton Marston is not a name people know. But believe me when I say that after watching this movie, you'll want to read up on him and his equally fascinating partners Elizabeth Marston and Olive Byrne. For not only is he the originator of Wonder Woman, the most famous female comic-book hero ever, he's quietly the most fascinating academics to steer the sexual proclivities of modern society since Albert Kinsey.

He, Elizabeth and Olive I should say. The film starts with the three of them bouncing around the psychology department of Tuft University working on research and fine-tuning William's (Evans) latest invention. Olive (Heathcote), the Marston's graduate assistant becomes enamored with the two of them, binding the three in a love triangle that turns into a healthy polyamorous relationship. It being the puritanical state of Massachusetts in the 1920's however, the three couldn't be insulated by the academic bubble for too long before The Marstons are quickly forced out and move to New York City. From there, they hide their double lives with Olive assuming the role of homemaker and "widow" while William and Elizabeth (Hall) find work where they can as "the couple".

As the narrative slowly ebbs towards the inevitable formation of the first Wonder Woman comic-book, the film occasionally diverts from its primary story and uses a red-baiting comic-book committee as connective tissue to William's complicated past. We've seen this kind of framing before. In fact, apart from the decade's long love story involving three people in a committed and loving relationship, we've seen all of this before…which may be the point. Instead of treating the subject matter as salacious or radically divergent, it treats it as another day in dramatic romance-land. Even when the trio develops an interest in the virtually criminalized BDSM subculture, there's a normalcy there that could potentially bore the one couple in the movie theater looking for their unicorn.

What makes Professor Marston ultimately work is director/writer Angela Robinson decision to make the tension largely external. It's never a question of whether all their goings-on will work but if the world will openly allow it. That concern is personified in Rebecca Hall's inner struggle that has the duel burden of her trying to be a smart, capable, 20th century working girl while also being madly in love with two people. One of whom is a woman.

As the brash, irascible Elizabeth, actress Rebecca Hall is an absolute revelation. She bursts onto the screen, all but announces she's smarter than everyone else in the room and easily proves it with her wit and pragmatism. While Heathcote displays the mirage of idyllic feminine beauty, it is Elizabeth's radical feminism that makes the punchy title worth the watch. Seriously though, if Hall doesn't get an Oscar nom by years' end I may have to boycott (#hall&Oscars).

Less successful is Luke Evans who, while certainly displaying the outward charm of a 1920's lad-about-town just has a knack for putting too fine a point on things. Every time we return to Connie Britton and her committee of comic-book hating cronies, Evans lectures like he's explaining particle physics to a freshman undergrad. Perhaps, given Marston's private life, Robinson may have figured the only way out of being questioned by a HUAC analog would be to be so soporific that they'd just move on to Superman or something.

All in all, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women may not be reverential enough to induce comic-book fans to check it out. The film spans decades ultimately treating the creation of Wonder Woman as an afterthought. Yet for those looking for a decently paced, boiler-plate great biopic it may just be the right ticket for you. Additionally because it smuggles in a few liberalizing tidbits about love and modern feminism (Luke Evans's goofy grin notwithstanding), Professor Marston may even be worth a detour to a theater ballsy enough to play it.
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8/10
If you liked wonder woman you'll love this...
justin-fencsak24 April 2018
When Wonder Woman made her live action big screen debut on opening weekend, a teaser for a movie based on the life of the creator and his relationship with his wife and her friends made the rounds causing lots of buzz. The thing is, the movie was better than the teaser. It's very accurate based on the time period and the casting is great. Unlike the wonder woman movie, this one is not for kids. It's rated R for sex and nudity and it shows. Luke Evans plays the lead role as Prof. Marston, who created the lie detector test and is on his way to create a game changing female super hero who would become the most famous of them all: Wonder Woman. I'm surprised that this movie didn't get any Oscar love (same for Wonder Woman 2017). Give this one a rental and see for yourself how wonderful this movie is.
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8/10
A beautiful film, but a flawed interpretation of reality
siderite6 January 2019
The Marston in the movie says truth is important and that is why that's Wonder Woman's greatest weapon. Yet, in the film, the actors are amazingly beautiful compared to the real life counterparts, their histories are altered and the story focuses only on some more exotic aspects of what happened. All that said, it is the truth that the writer and director Angela Robinson wanted to express and she did it very well. The love scenes are inspiring and the actors do a wonder-ful job.

The short synopsis is a guy lives with two women and this is vaguely related to him conceiving Wonder Woman, a female superhero who has alternately been praised, reviled, then brought back to glory as the neurotic tendencies of Americans changed over time. If it does anything, the film opens you mind about the true origins of eroticism and love than to have anything with comic books or even the knee jerk reaction of society disapproval in the 40s.

Worth checking out with your other on a quiet evening.
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7/10
Not Henry & June ... But Worth Your Time
Antonovich8411 October 2017
Grateful to have caught an early screening of this movie in NYC, in which the cast made a brief appearance at the movie theater. The first thing I want to say is that this is a movie I will watch more than once.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a film about ideas. It explores polyamory ("the philosophy or state of being in love or romantically involved with more than one person at the same time") and touches on explorations of dominance/submission and role-play, along the lines of BDSM.

Having read Jill Lepore's excellent book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman, I knew a great deal about this story before going into the theater. As Lepore writes, "Wonder Woman's debt is to the fictional feminist utopia and the struggle for women's rights. Her origins lie in William Moulton Marston's past, and in the lives of the women he loved; they created Wonder Woman, too." It's this dynamic that sets the stage for this story, and the preview trailer for this film made it look erotic too. But those expecting to see a film along the lines of Henry & June may be disappointed.

I enjoyed this movie, but wished the romantic elements were explored more fully, particularly between the two women. The editing seemed at times overly efficient, too much in a hurry, far more concerned with propelling the narrative forward than in creating a relaxed, intimate atmosphere where the characters could indulge in the situation and be in the moment. I wish there were more "real time" scenes of foreplay, actually. Not sex, foreplay - as in flirting. Because I couldn't see the bond these people shared, and this was a movie about how these people connected.

My favorite character, by far, was Olive Byrne as played by Bella Heathcote, who is vulnerable and beautiful in the film. A real Gwendoline, to use fetish parlance. Least favorite would be Marston's wife as played by Rebecca Hall, who's an accomplished actress but seemed too uptight - and, worse, too contemporary - in this role. It always amazes me that costume and set design for period pieces like this are thoroughly researched and accurately reproduced, while almost no research goes into reproducing language use and speech patterns of the day (1925 - 1947). Did people actually use the f-word as much as Rebecca Hall uses it in this film? I think not. It made her character more grating than she needed to be. This is a fault of the script, and the f-word was used as a crutch far too often.

Marston was played adequately by the rugged-looking Luke Evans, who bears no resemblance to the overweight, dreamy-eyed real-life William Moulton Marston, but this was a concession to female audience members I suppose.

In real life, it's unknown how Marston developed an interest in BDSM. In the film, it's through Marston's encounter with the mythical pioneer of fetish history, Charles Guyette (the "G-string King"), a real historical figure. What I know of Guyette I learned through reading Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art by Richard Perez Seves. As suavely played by JJ Field, he serves as mentor to Marston. Again, this is a bit of shorthand. Guyette is not mentioned in Lepore's history, but the audience is quickly introduced to this fetish underworld, which serves as a strong influence in the creation of Wonder Woman. No mention of Guyette being French in the Seves's book; in fact, he was born and raised in Massachusetts, according to Seves, but the people making this film may not have known this at the time as this brief book is more recent.

Overall, I'll wrap up this review by saying that despite these flaws, this is a film worth viewing. Maybe my own high expectations for it were impossible to meet. I enjoyed many scenes, with my favorite relying on the lie detector machine used in the first half of the movie; I truly loved those scenes. Again, I loved Bella Heathcote as Olive Byrne in this. So, in spite of all my nitpicking, I still give this movie a strong 7 out of 10. The ideas explored in this film make it worth watching. Maybe there's a director's cut of this film out there with additional scenes between the actors. One can only hope. But I would still see this movie again, as is, and certainly plan to.
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7/10
A very smart, funny, and inspiring work from one of Comic Books eccentric minds
CinePendejo23 October 2017
OK I'm not going to say a whole lot but I'm short: I really like this one.

Even if, by design, it looks like an unexceptional biopic by each fricken frame, the characters and dialogue more than make up for it. The story is centered around William Moulton Marston who - and I'm not kidding here - is 1. The inventor of the lie detector, 2. a radical progressive feminist that thinks women are the superior race with proof in the form of his psychological research 3. One of which include bondage (seriously) 4. Manages to have 2 wives who loved and lived together and 5. Used all his fixations and progressive ideals to invent Wonder Woman.

I mean hell! You could tell me if this guy could turn water into wine and I would believe you. The film knows how bonkers this guy is, but presents him matter-of-factly rather than with scorn or praise. Much like my closest film comparison THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLINT, it's the type of eccentric, perverse mindset that doesn't allow you to like the man but understand and appreciate how he changed the world with his ideals.

However, the film is mostly concerned with the three-way (sorry) love story at the center. The wife gets all the most complexity as she struggles with her bisexuality, her suppressed opportunities based on her gender, and the everyday family lifestyle that rejects her. It gets deep as well as heartbreaking.

Olive turns out to be the partner of the two, and easily gets more of an arc. At first very shy and uncertain of her status in life, the film progresses her to the free-spirited bisexuality that the movie treats as a hopeful triumph. The best moment is when she dawns the Wonder Woman costume in order to perform S&M ( Just bare with me, guys) and it's presented as a sign of self-discovery rather than gratuitous sleaze. I'm not sure if people like her would connect to this, but I would say it's a lot more hopeful and cathartic than anything BATTLE OF THE SEXES could ever wish to offer.

Angela Robinson directs this with the type of directing chops you expect from a run-of-the-mill miniseries rather than a movie. But much like Patty Jenkins work with WONDER WOMAN, her limited chops is unmatched by the utter love and conviction to the subject matter. It's the type of film where the imperfections make the film more real and self-confident.

Professor Marston & The Wonder Women is a damn good time and the rare biopic you rarely see anymore. Classy, funny, sexy, delightful, brilliantly acted, and overall passionate, you have to see this!
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8/10
I'm your wife, not your jailor.
nogodnomasters12 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Based on the true story on the creation of Wonder Woman from the mind and life of Professor William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and Olive Byrne, a student, who formed a threesome. He would sire two children from each woman in an unorthodox relationship during a less than acceptable age of such things. Their role play and light bondage would make its way into the scandalous comic.

It was an interesting film, but the characters didn't appeal to me. In spite of their sexual escapes, they were very dry except for maybe a few good scenes with Rebecca Hall. Champion of women's liberation or male fantasy?

Guide: F-word, sex, nudity (Rebecca Hall)
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10/10
Original Interpretation of an interesting story -- for adults
leemadisonauthor19 October 2017
Fantastic film. But not as sexual as the advertisements promised. In fact, apart from the curse words, this film should be rated PG-13 at best. I found it surprisingly chaste.

The first thing you should know is that this film is NOT based on the book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman. It is based on original research by the director/writer of the movie, who did a great job interpreting the story her own way. It's a story about what happens when you defy convention! And the good that can come of it.

Is it factual? Mostly, yes. Kinkiness and BDSM is in the book as well (just read it), not to mention the early comics of Wonder Woman. Anyone denying the lesbian/BDSM content of the real story and the BDSM content of the comic ... is in denial. Sadly, the granddaughter of William Moulton Marston has campaigned to destroy the film, enlisting the support of conservatives and anti-gay people (of which there are many) to spread the word about how the movie is "fake." But what's fake? It's a fictional retelling, not a documentary, based on a true story. Fake is the show, Fargo, which claims to be based on actual events, but is completely made up. But no one seems to make a big deal about that. Why? No BDSM or lesbian content in it -- so it's perfectly fine? I think certain people need to acknowledge their own prejudice.

Anway, I thought the actors were solid. The director did a great job telling an unconventional story. This is a movie for adults, obviously. I could see this film as a theater piece -- a Broadway play -- actually -- particularly those dress-up scenes with the Frenchman, Charles Guyette, the "G-String King." Very theatrical indeed.
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10/10
Titillating ménage à trois but the real beauty of this film is the picturesque period scenes and a musical score that speaks to its audience
Ed-Shullivan21 January 2021
I loved this film. I regret not watching it years ago but my personal film library which draws from all film genres requires choice, and believe me this biography about the unique relationship of the three main characters is all about choice.

It strikes me as very odd that some IMDB reviewers refer to this film as soft porn, flawed, squalid, lurid, obnoxious, and/or inaccurate to describe it. I personally am a monogamous heterosexual male, and I enjoyed every minute of this biographical based film about the unique living relationship between two scholars, Professor William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), his wife who also holds a M.A. in Psychology, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, (Rebecca Hall) and their third wheel in this unorthodox relationship a beautiful undergraduate student named Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote).

The film weaves its story of this unique ménage à trois which was both written and directed by Angela Robinson so wonderful that I felt I was actually living in the period of the 1920's through the 1940's with the cast. The cinematography of this period piece was beautiful in its lustre, design, and dressage. Ahhhh but what really wove this love story with all its controversy was the warm and loving musical score which literally speaks to the audience like no words could ever have been able to capture.

The cast was fantastic, the cinematography so inviting and I just loved the musical score which held my attention throughout the film. This film from the opening scene to the closing credits held my attention and brought me into the 1920's - 1940's period seamlessly and as I took my first breath the movie was suddenly over. This is pure escapism that is dramatic in nature, with a great three way romance, and a bit of a history lesson for the uninformed.

It's simply perfect! I give it a perfect 10 out of 10 IMDB rating. I will be watching this film a few more times and a special thank you to writer/director Angela Robinson for sharing her story and vision with us all.
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7/10
"Together, you are the perfect woman."
classicsoncall2 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I wasn't aware that the comic book heroine Wonder Woman arose from such controversial beginnings. Sticking around to the very end of the movie you get a glimpse of the real Dr. William Moulton Marston, and one has to wonder how he wound up with two women attracted to him, though to be fair, those women didn't look like Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote either. Ostensibly cast for their appeal to modern day viewers, I tried to picture less favorable looking players in the story and it just didn't work. I won't say I was shocked by the depiction of Marston's life style with his wife and lover, but the first time I heard the f-word out of Elizabeth Marston's (Hall) mouth, I had a pretty good idea that it was used for shock value and not really an accurate representation of dialog in the 1920's and 30's. Such language, particularly it's frequent repetition, didn't ring true as the story played out.

The picture also helped identify an earlier era in which morals and values were tested, and in which the Marston's life style was considered off limits for the 'average' American. Growing up in the Sixties made it seem like the moral breakdown of the country was just getting under way at that time, but here it's preceded by almost four decades. Actually, some movies made in the Twenties and Thirties are kind of racy in and of themselves, especially when you get to some of the classic cult and exploitation flicks of the era like "Gambling With Souls" and "Slaves in Bondage". Those weren't being seen by underage kids, at least I don't think so, so the introduction of topics like sex, bondage and prostitution in the pages of a dime comic made it seem all the more scandalous and available.

I thought the movie was OK, but I'm certain that much of it was fictionalized based on my earlier observation and the comments of other reviewers on this board. Admittedly, some of the scenes border on soft porn territory without getting overly graphic. But if even the thought that it might make one uncomfortable, the better advice is to not even go there.
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8/10
the sexual perversions of Wonder Woman
SnoopyStyle3 March 2018
In 1928 Radcliffe Colleges, William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) is a professor with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall). They are taken with beautiful student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) and recruit her as a test subject. She's the daughter and niece of prominent liberated women despite being left to be raised by nuns. They develop a complicated family group as well as create the lie detector and comic book icon Wonder Woman. In 1945, Marston is interrogated by Josette Frank of the Child Study Association of America as Wonder Woman comics are burned publicly.

This is a fantastical tale of the true origins of Wonder Woman. It's a more adult fare comparable to the TV show Masters of Sex. The movie would work better to explain the sexual climates of the 20s to the 40s. A little more exposition would set up the their outsider relationship. It also clashes with the family-friendly modern comic book franchises. It is more adventurous than even the needs of a puritan sexuality of movie comics. A better title would be Sexual Perversions of Wonder Woman but that would drive away the kiddie crowd that races to the modern comic book movies. There is a conflict between the real subjects and the reality of the PG-13 franchises. Surprisingly, there is real heart in these characters and this movie delivers real conflicts.
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9/10
We need more movies like this one!!
ivantheeditor29 December 2018
To all the people saying that this movie is inaccurate - DUH!! It's a feature film, NOT a documentary!! Do you know what a feature film is? It means it has a script writer - someone who writes the story... who comes up with the lines... based on their own imagination. Of course 90% of the stuff in that movie didn't happen. None of us were there at that time!! They have to make that stuff up. Otherwise, how else are they supposed to make an interesting movie?? If they don't come up with an interesting story you'll complain about how boring it was. If they come up with something interesting that's even slightly fictional the history police goes nuts with their crazy "the movie is inaccurate!!!" comments. Give it a break for once, will ya??

The movie was incredible. It was so tastefully done. The acting is superb. The cinematography is breathtaking. The pacing is spot on and moves the story along so well. Not a single dull moment in this movie. I was captivated from the first second to the last. I could watch movies like this non stop. It's brilliant. Yes, I understand it's not what actually happened. I don't care. For an hour and a half I lived in a beautiful fantasy world and watched an amazing story unfold in the most magnificent way possible. And if that isn't the real reason why people make and watch movies then you need to wake up and get real. This one is a MUST SEE!
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The original
harry_tk_yung31 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
When I compared today's Wonder Woman (made globally-famous by the incredible Gal Gadot) with the one I knew back in the early 1960's and noted the vast difference, I didn't know that there was an "original" that was even more different. That is, not until I saw "Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman", a bio-pic that records an interesting piece of pop culture history. The narrative structure is all too familiar: an interview and/or interrogation in 1945 during which the protagonist's responses become catalysts to flashbacks. Here, specifically, is Professor William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) facing children's book expert Josette Frank's (Connie Britton), defending "Wonder Woman", his creation for DC Comics. The original version of Wonder Woman was condemned for its proliferation of BDSM, hence outrageously inappropriate for its target audience, children and young adults. Embedded in the flashback, the movie is in two distinct halves. The first half traces the trajectory of the initial encounter and subsequent development of the polyamory threesome. The second half takes up the title story of the creation of Wonder Woman. The flashback starts with 1928 at Harvard where the psychology profession is teaching and conducting researches, assisted by his brilliant wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall), whose only obstacle against becoming his equal (or even superior) is that her being a woman. They notice a very attractive student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote). "Her beauty is her albatross" Elizabeth nonchalantly comments. Before they decide to hire Olive as an assistant, Elizabeth declares to her husband she bears no "sexual jealousy", only "professional jealousy". Yet, upon meeting Olive, she loses no time in uttering "If you f*** my husband I'll kill you!" In explanation to Olive, William describes his wife as "neurotic, compulsive, grade A bitch". The somewhat eccentric couple soon realize that despite her mild manners and easy disposition, Olive is descended from "two most famous woman radicals" (mother and aunt). As well, Olive's quiet determination soon wins them over, to treat her more like an equal, temperamentally if not intellectually. Olive on the other hand finds out more about the Marston couple, that they had been childhood sweethearts. When he finally proposed to her, in was in the middle of a heated debate they were having on Carl Jung's theory. Gradually, climaxing at the mid-point of the moving, culminating in a series of stylishly erotic montages with the too-obviously titled song "Feeling good" as background, the three of them cement their relationship. There is a lesser subplot, about Marston's invention of the lie-detector. Purportedly, the facts are essentially correct. The device, however, is overused in the movie as a vehicle that triggers the protagonists' recognition of their true feelings towards one another. The second half has two main themes. The first is the expected hostility from whatever neighborhood they try to settle in, against their somewhat unorthodox "family" (they now have three offspring, two from Olive and one from Elizabeth). The other is the creation of Wonder Woman, inspired by the beauty of Olive and the very different psychological strengths of both women. The controversy of BDSM (both evolving through the comic character and their real life), as depicted in the movie, is essentially BD and very little SM except for the mild ceremonial spanking very early on in Olive's sorority pledging. The well-hidden spectators, the Marston couple, are obviously aroused (particularly Elizabeth). As the movie is based on true events, there is a limit to how far dramatization (at time melodramatization) can go: vicissitudes, conflicts, illness, reconciliation. At the end, details of the lives of the three protagonists was disseminated in written captions prior to the ending credit. Hall and Heathcote both give good performances, particularly when watched together, in the contrast between the persona of these two women. There is one scene however they have difficulty with - the reconciliation scene at the end, which come across as a little awkward. But the problem is probably more with the script than with anything else. Evans, while not displaying any glaring flaw, is generally out-shined by his two co-stars.
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8/10
An Untold Story Worth Knowing
kjproulx4 February 2018
Wonder Woman was a hit as a comic book in the past and recently a hit at cinemas around the world, so if this story was going to hit the mainstream, it only makes sense that now's the time. It seems as though more and more true stories are being made into films, and this may just be for me personally, but unique and original films seem to be dwindling down and more sequels and remakes taking their place. I believe that filmmakers choose to make true stories nowadays because the lack of original or interesting content is hard to come by, so things that have happened out in the real world seems like a safe bet that people will find enjoyable, for the most part. Quite frankly, I just thought Wonder Woman was made by a man who liked superheroes, but there's much more to it than that. If you wish to be intrigued by a story that's consistently surprising, then Professor Marston and the Wonder Women may just be the film for you.

William Moulton Marston is the original author of the Wonder Woman stories, even though many of the books he wrote used the pseudonym Charles Moulton. Living a life as a professor, he became infatuated with one of his students. His wife sharing the same affections toward her lead to a love triangle between the three of them. William discovering that their traits made up the perfect woman, this lead to the creation of the character we all know and love today. Being a much more sexualized character in the past, things began to spiral out of control for this family.

I loved watching this movie, but I also found myself wanting more in terms of how it was telling this story. I felt as though it was taking me through the motions rather than coming up with a clever way of telling its story. Yes, it has come clever editing techniques in the way that it goes back and forth through multiple periods of time, and even though the editing style was easily the stand out to me here, it wasn't enough to completely suck me in. Where I feel this film shined was in it's casting.

Luke Evans has always impressed me, whether it's an appearance as a generic villain in Fast & Furious 6 or showing his musical talents in Beauty and the Beast just to name a couple, I've always seen him as someone who could be a real household name one day. This is definitely one of his most subtle performances, but the way he hid his accent and played off of each actress/actor. Rebecca Hall is wonderful as always and upon looking up Bella Heathcote's acting credits and seeing that she appeared in movies like In Time and Fifty Shades Darker and still having no clue who she was until now made me think that she wouldn't be memorable, but I can see her starring in her own film in the coming years. She came off as a very likable woman here and I can't wait to see more of her.

In the end, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women uses a lot of techniques that countless other films do in recent years so that was quite the downfall to me, considering the subject matter was so risqué and intriguing for a modern audience, given our present climate. It's not going to be for everyone, due to the fact that the story itself may turn viewers off, but it's a true story that I'm sure many would like to discover. Overall, an impressive movie about the invention of a lovable character that has gone quite a bit under the radar, which is a shame.
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10/10
captivating, highly original and a must see
rogier-8678513 June 2018
This movie is a highly original love story that is surprisingly subtle given the unconventional nature of the relationship and family life of these three people. In their love for one another they laid the seeds for the best modern day fictional power woman known to us. But that is really not the core of this extremely well crafted film.

This wonder woman is not so much a force of feminism but ultimately something greater: a force of love and truth that conquers all. It includes all of love's concepts and translates them in an almost perfect visual language. The film casually marries all kinds of psychologically fascinating questions by showing us what love really means and does to us, even it is not the 'standard' family structure or missionary position. And it does so with surprising ease.

This leaves a film that is emotionally captivating from beginning to end. It has all these concepts and questions... but it just wraps them all firmly in that loving blanket. You really feel the affection between the main characters. You can almost touch it, that's how good the directing and performances are. It doesn't try to tell us what love is, it just shows us onscreen.

And the result is the extraordinary Wonder Woman, reminding us that nothing is ordinary about true love.
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9/10
Loved the story
sergelamarche7 November 2018
It was a different time, full of hope and changes. The unconventional love trio is really something unexpected and refreshing from the States. True, they tried everything, and that story represent a success. With a frenchie bent, to please more.
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9/10
Wonder Story
chizdamasii14 January 2018
If we start comparing this with our normal lives, it will just blow our minds, it will even make us hate the sinning examples portrayed in the movie. We are the sum of our experiences though, and we all hate to be hated. From this point, i admire the protagonists courage because, we like it or not, we are pure sexual beings. With that in mind, i welcome and give a big thumbs up of approval to this wonderful movie, go and see it, it will change your heart and mind equally. 9* out of 10!
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10/10
Great movie!
AnnaPagrati30 August 2021
I, a huge Marvel fan, really ADORED this movie! Such great plot & actors!
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6/10
The lasso of love
Prismark109 July 2018
Professor Marston was an interesting man. A professor of psychology, a noted feminist who lived with his wife and another woman together. He was responsible for an important element of the lie detector test and he created Wonder Woman all before dying at a relatively young age of 53.

This film depicts how the creation of Wonder Woman was linked between his polyamorous relationship from the late 1920s between his Manx born wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their alluring research student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) who was the daughter and niece of radical feminists but was actually raised by nuns.

Marston (Luke Evans) himself had ideas that would be deemed to be deviant for the times. He had an interest in bondage, domination, submissiveness as well as the living arrangements with the two women, elements that bled through the Wonder Woman comics.

The story is framed through an interrogation of Marston by Josette Frank of the Child Study Association of America who is appalled as to what is being shown in the comics and how this might relate to Marton's own lifestyle.

The framing device of the inquiry was clumsy. It did rather mirror the McCarthyism that will soon become all too real a few years later.

Heathcote brings the right blend to her character. Inquisitive, vulnerable, sexy and willing to open her mind to new experiences. Hall came across as too brittle and angry. I could never see Oliver falling for Elizabeth. Evans brings some smoldering Welsh temperament to his Marston, passions burning underneath just waiting to ignite.

The film was rather uneven, apart from the comic advisory board inquiry, the part where they are caught in their relationship by a neighbour and its aftermath was horribly done. Marston's own family have been critical of the events depicted in this film.

Director Angela Robinson is not as daring as she makes out to be. The film is rather vanilla than kinky, the narrative tends to get awkward too often.
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9/10
Brilliant!
danahosn19 March 2018
Brilliant writing and directing. The acting is to be as praised as well. I do not know how much of the actual truth is presented in the movie, but it was a very smart portrayal of how wonder woman came to be and what she has represented all alone
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10/10
Such a beautiful story
darabisam20 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I don't care about sex, feminism, attraction, money, lust .... I care about a well-made story about a freaky true love. Sometimes it is the love make us to be successful and this beautiful movie proved it literally.
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9/10
A Lovely and Charming Movie
mbooker-427 March 2018
Angela Robinson has offered a sweet and fascinating movie based (very) loosely on the creator of the Wonder Woman comic book. Evans, Hall and Heathcote offer complex and flawed characters tied in a three-way romance. Their decision to live a polyamorous lifestyle causes scandal, job losses and a fistfight. It rather brings to mind "Big Love," except that the women are depicted as lovers rather than as sister wives. Robinson offers scene after scene of beautifully-crafted visuals backed by instrumental music. She has a patience in her story-telling that really worked for me. The story imagines the many inspirations that came together to form the Wonder Woman mythos. The oddest thing about the movie is that it supports Fredric Wertham's central claims in Seduction of the Innocent, a notorious 1954 book that nearly destroyed the comic book industry. In Robinson's telling, the Wonder Woman comic *was* filled with sexual imagery designed to manipulate the minds of America's young people. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed the film.
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manifesto
Kirpianuscus20 December 2019
I saw it as a manifesto. About freedom, about intimate life, about fiction as fruit of deep roots in reality and about love. A provocative film about a provocative subject, having as precious gift the splendid performance of Rebecca Hall and being, in wise manner, more than a biographic film but a sort of map for interdictions, science theories used by not conformist tools and the fight for an idea not easy to accept or tolerate. A beautiful film, an useful manifesto.
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