The two-part docuseries “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” premiered on Hulu Monday, an illuminating portrait of the iconic model, actress and author, directed by Emmy-winning documentarian Lana Wilson. This isn’t just any basic biography, however, as the film is structured around Shields’ lack of agency over her own image and sexuality as a young child model and actress. Wilson uses Shields’ life story to open up the conversation into social commentary, scrutinizing the ways in which young girls have been sexualized in the media, as well as the public sense of entitlement to criticize young women’s choices about their bodies and sexuality.
There are fascinating personal revelations about Shields’ life, to be sure, but the film is less juicy celebrity tell-all than cultural critique through the life story of one celebrity, and it makes sense that Shields tapped Wilson — who has tackled social issues and celebrity in her career — to tell her life story on film. Here are several other documentaries by Wilson to watch after “Pretty Baby” to get to know her body of work.
Shields likely looked to Wilson’s 2020 documentary “Miss Americana” to see how the filmmaker tackled both celebrity and sociopolitical commentary in one project. This intimate behind-the-scenes look at the life, career and writing process of Taylor Swift gave unprecedented access to the superstar as she wrote her 2019 album, “Lover,” and struggled with asserting herself politically during a fraught moment in the country. It’s a fascinating and absorbing film, stream it on Netflix.
Wilson’s previous film “The Departure” (2017) was a far cry from the world of celebrity. This moving portrait of punk rocker-turned-Japanese Buddhist priest Ittetsu Nemoto, who counsels people through suicidal ideation as he navigates his own personal challenges. This observational film is deeply meditative and lyrical, taking on life’s hardest questions with gentleness and care. Stream it on Tubi, Kanopy, Pluto TV or rent it elsewhere.
Wilson won her Emmy for her debut 2013 film “After Tiller,” which she co-directed with Martha Shane. It’s an exceptionally searing documentary which has only, sadly, grown in relevance in the decade since it was released. The film is a look at the few late-term abortion providers left in the United States, working in the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, who was assassinated by an anti-abortion extremist at church in 2009. Wilson and Shane manage to share the stories of women seeking late-term abortion care without shame or judgment and with the ultimate sense of delicacy and humanity for each unique situation. It’s a beautiful and haunting film, one that will change how you look at late-term abortion, women’s health care and reproductive freedom forever. Stream it on Tubi, Kanopy, or rent it elsewhere.
Wilson has also directed episodes of the docuseries “A Cure for Fear” (2018), exploring how to overcome phobias and PTSD based on how the mind learns fear (stream it on Topic) and “Mind/Trip” (2021), exploring the lives of people who live with mental health disorders. Stream that on The Roku Channel.
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