The sad part is the FBI really was a political tool once upon a time. It was a political tool for the Right, of course; J. Edgar Hoover saw a Marxist insurrection inside every ghetto. Despite the massive rantings of the massive Orange Whiner, however, today’s FBI is much more politically neutral. The idea that white Republican men into national security like Robert Mueller or James Comey, the FBI director Trump fired, are part of some Leftist “Deep State” -or that that such a left-leaning Deep State exists in the first place- requires a willing misbelief of fact. Welcome to our MAGA reality. Anyhoo, if the FBI is investigating Trump in 2020 it has nothing to do with Trump’s politics and everything to do with illegal crap tied to the Donald. I wanted to make that clear before we explore the life of a 1960s actress that a politically motivated FBI voluntarily ruined.
Midwest pixie and French-speaking Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) was big enough to star in an Otto Preminger film (Saint Joan) as a teenager. Try to imagine teenage Miley Cyrus starring in a Christopher Nolan film and you get the idea. Better yet, try to imagine a teenage Kristen Stewart starring in a Christopher Nolan film instead of Twilight. And now, I want to see Christopher Nolan’s Twilight in which the vampires are less sparkly and more time-travel-ly. Anyhoo, I don’t have much of an opinion about the real Jean Seberg; can’t say I have memories of her acting. All I know is when she stopped making films, she was smaller than Dean Martin and bigger than Jacqueline Bisset … and that’s probably where I’d rank KStew, fame-wise, as well.
By the summer of 1968, Jean was a mother and a wife living in Paris. She was something of an envelope activist, having donated money to left-leaning causes without much in the way of active participation. That changed when she took a plane to Los Angeles and met former Black Panther Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie). At the time, the FBI -according to the film- viewed the Black Panthers as the greatest threat to the American way of life. Any starlet willing to pose for a power salute with African American activists was, by the transitive property, also a threat to the American way of life. Naturally, Jean had to be watched, closely.
It’s possible the FBI only had eyes on Jamal when Seberg drifted from her Beverly heights to Crenshaw for some late-night drinks ‘n’ sex. Jamal, a Muslim, was not hip to the alcohol portion of the get-together yet seemed fine with the adultery part. Guess I don’t know the Koran very well. Seberg sure got on the FBI’s radar after that thanks a great deal to the FBI’s new sound guy, Jack Solomon (Jack O’Connell).
It’s hard to evaluate the FBI’s actions here – I mean, spying exclusively on Black Panthers and ex-Black Panthers as suspected terrorists, well, that’s low-grade Trump-level racism, the kind of racism one can justify if your facts are very selective and you’re speaking to certain crowds. The FBI leaking their discoveries and encouraging anti-miscegenation behavior – that’s more Klan-level racist behavior, the kind of stuff MAGA denies in public and indulges in private. Do I doubt the truth of this? Unfortunately, no. This is among the sad legacies of the FBI. Then again, slavery is among the sad legacies of the USA; we all have something to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately, the film here devolves into a poor man’s The Conversation. Jean turns slowly from activist/mother/wife/star into isolated, paranoid delusionist. Is Kristen Stewart up for this transformation? Well, when has KStew ever been up for a true acting challenge?
It’s hard to place Jean Seberg in my world as she ducked out of the public eye before I arrived. By many accounts, she was, for years, a legitimate movie star capable of turning heads and tearing eyes. In the end, however, she probably cannot be considered larger than the woman who played her … and nobody thinks Kristen Stewart is all that. As for the picture, well, KStew is much better than she used to be. I found Seberg more compelling than not. Given the subject matter, it’s pretty clear from the imdb voting that the Alt-Right has already stamped their seal of disapproval on this film for daring to claim that compassion is better than hate. So I’m giving it a mild pass. In the end, I do want to know more about Jean Seberg and wish I’d seen that Otto Preminger film … if just to pan it.
Many creatures hang in KStew’s quarry
Exotic trios are her greatest glory
Yet now werewolves are a no
And that vamp kid can blow
Once a Panther became part of her story
Rated R, 102 Minutes
Director: Benedict Andrews
Writers: Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse
Genre: The history of RW bigotry
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who watch Twilight for Kristen Stewart
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Bigots
