There is a strange feeling of Being the Ricardos, third feature film directed by Aaron Sorkin. A bit as if the subject had put itself at the service of the brilliant screenwriter, to whom we owe in particular The Social Network and The Trial of the Chicago 7, rather than the other way around. In other words, Sorkin seems to offer here the image that he has forged himself of the icon that was Lucille Ball, which, of course, is his strictest right. Hasn’t Pablo Larraín just demonstrated this with Princess Diana in his film? Spencer ?
The difference, however, lies in the much more realistic approach taken by Aaron Sorkin. To evoke the journey of a woman whose influence was exerted in front of as behind the camera at a time when television was still in its first years of existence, the filmmaker, who brings to the screen the scenario which ‘he wrote, focused on a particular week in the star’s life. Many flashbacks are added to it, but also false testimonies from three architects of the famous show, delivered decades later, as if it were a documentary.
Professional and personal life intertwine as Lucille Ball, who found success on television after a checkered career in film, demanded that her Cuban-born spouse, then known as a conductor, embody also her husband on screen, a first in terms of diversity. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem each offer superb compositions on their own, but have more difficulty passing on the passionate bond that united the two protagonists, the one which, according to one screenwriter, made it possible for them to “tear themselves away from the earth.” head, but also their laundry ”.
The main attraction of Being the Ricardos is to take us back behind the scenes of a cult show, produced in an era that is now completely over.
On Amazon Prime Video
Drama biographical
Being the Ricardos
Aaron Sorkin
With Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, JK Simmons
2 h 11