Documentary Binges: Beckham & The Super Models

Do you want to watch something more substantial than a movie but less time-consuming than an entire season of a TV show? Well, might I recommend two riveting celebrity documentaries that shine the spotlight on some people who have already been in the spotlight for their entire lives.

Beckham: Directed by Fisher Stevens (you might recognize him as Hugo from Succession and have to adjust your brain to the idea that he is also an Oscar-winning documentarian!), this is a brilliant biography of David Beckham, the man, the myth, the legend. I have always been aware of Beckham's existence, but mostly because of Bend It Like Beckham, and not because I actually ever watched him play football. And of course, to me he mostly existed as Posh Spice's husband. 

But in this series, we get four hours that chronicle his childhood, with a father who molded him to become a footballing machine; his relationship and marriage to Victoria; the absolutely vitriolic treatment he received from the British press and the British public when he was unfairly blamed for England losing the World Cup; and the many ways in which his career kept morphing. This is a man with a singular dedication to his sport, and he almost refuses to say a bad word about anyone or even acknowledge his own mental health struggles in pursuit of this blinding ambition. 

My favorite part of this documentary is how we get to watch players watch themselves in important matches. It's one thing to see them just chatting about their lives. But the minute Fisher Stevens turns on a match and then the camera focuses on their faces, it's like their eyes get extra-focused and steely and this smile blossoms on their faces, and that's it. This is who they are, and they seem to remember every match like they just walked off the pitch. It is also gloriously entertaining to hear Victoria's Beckham's side of the story, and the many indignities she had to face as a footballer's wife. Sure, she might have been Posh Spice, but once she had some kids, her main concern was, "how am I going to keep these kids in school?!" While the documentary briefly addresses rumors of infidelity (with nothing actually being admitted, because that's what happens when your documentary subject is also serving as the producer), this is ultimately a story about a couple that fell in love when they were super young and exposed to startling levels of worldwide fame, who have now built a life together that seems to have worked out well. It's a delightful biography, compellingly told, and now I finally understand what all the fuss was about.

The Super Models: Directed by Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, this is an excellent documentary about Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford, four women who became models in the 80s, and then became so famous that they officially became supermodels. As someone who is not remotely into fashion, I knew these names, of course, but nothing else about these women, so for four hours I was spellbound by their stories.

Each of these four women has a unique history, and the first episode is all about their family backgrounds and how they made it into the business. It was astonishing how naive their parents were, sending out these teenage girls into auditions and then global international campaigns with absolutely no supervision. The women talk about the different modelling agencies at the time, some of which treated the girls like family and ensured they had strict rules to follow so they didn't get in trouble, while others were lax and treated these girls simply as the means to making a boatload of money. Sadly, there are of course some tales of abuse, and we also see some rather horrifying talk show interviews, where the women are asked about their weight, and simply treated as pretty objects to throw a dress onto, with no thoughts or ideas of their own. It's also incredible how they describe the current state of modelling versus what they were doing in the 80s and 90s - they didn't have the ease of Photoshop and digital cameras, so they had to work diligently with their photographers to come up with these iconic photos with no touch-ups or special effects.

It's a compelling and wonderful series that highlights the glamor and grittiness of the profession, and it is fascinating to see how all four women had very different career trajectories and ideas about how they wanted to live their post-supermodel lives. Throughout, there is a wonderful thread of sisterhood and support, a reminder that the true key to a woman's success is to have other women championing her along the way. It's amazing to see these women brought back together in this documentary and note how their friendship has endured and how easily they fall back into the old rhythms as they pose for a photoshoot when they're now in their 50s. Turns out these models are still pretty super.