This is a terrific documentary on the life and work of the sexologist Shere Hite, whose survey on women's sexual practices, The Hite Report, became a huge bestseller in the 1970s and '80s. To detractors, she was a "man-hater," to fans she was a feminist icon.
The doc covers Hite's troubled childhood, her precarious existence on the fringes of New York's artistic community, her hard work planning and publishing the sex surveys, her sudden rise to fame, jousting with the media and male critics, and her eventual retreat from the limelight. The movie sets the context really well, and uses contemporary film footage, interviews with Hite, personal records and memorabilia, and the testimonies of colleagues and publishers to create a full picture of her ideas and impact. The editing of these different elements into a cohesive story is outstanding.
I've never thought much of Dakota Johnson as an actress, and her voicing of Hite's words throughout the movie are typically lifeless. However, I give her props for putting her money and influence behind the making of the film. She was a producer and it must have been hard to pitch. She can be proud of the result, a thoughtful, well edited look at the life and work of a controversial and fascinating woman.
The doc covers Hite's troubled childhood, her precarious existence on the fringes of New York's artistic community, her hard work planning and publishing the sex surveys, her sudden rise to fame, jousting with the media and male critics, and her eventual retreat from the limelight. The movie sets the context really well, and uses contemporary film footage, interviews with Hite, personal records and memorabilia, and the testimonies of colleagues and publishers to create a full picture of her ideas and impact. The editing of these different elements into a cohesive story is outstanding.
I've never thought much of Dakota Johnson as an actress, and her voicing of Hite's words throughout the movie are typically lifeless. However, I give her props for putting her money and influence behind the making of the film. She was a producer and it must have been hard to pitch. She can be proud of the result, a thoughtful, well edited look at the life and work of a controversial and fascinating woman.