Decoding "Melania": An Expert Reads Between the Lines - Washingtonian

"Brett Ratner's new documentary about Melania Trump is long and glossy yet largely unrevealing-critics have said it has " the feel of a soothingly looped AI screensaver" and that it is " compelling as dental floss," " short on substance," and " a personality-study of a person who doesn't actually have one." They've used words like " hagiographic," "unimaginative," " Sphinxlike," and " stultifying." The Bulwark called it a "pure and naked instrument of graft and propaganda" that "preaches to the faithful with great reverence.""

"But Carl Sferazza Anthony takes a somewhat different view. He's an expert on First Ladies-a former speechwriter for Nancy Reagan who became a historian and journalist of the First Family-and he thinks the film does reveal important things about Melania Trump, including her perfectionism and the distance in her marriage. In a conversation on Tuesday, he offered some context from White Houses past while insisting that we take Melania on her own terms."

"What I got from the movie is that Melania Trump is basically autonomous. She doesn't seem to be living with the President. Her day-to-day life does not have very much to do with him. She's a glamorous person who is flying around and taking black cars places and meeting with fancy people- Yeah, she's walking across rooms in nice clothes. And that's what a model does, isn't it? But why would that be the image she wants to show the American people?"

Critics widely describe Brett Ratner's new documentary about Melania Trump as long, glossy and largely unrevealing, using words like hagiographic, unimaginative, Sphinxlike and stultifying. The Bulwark called the work a pure and naked instrument of graft and propaganda that preaches to the faithful. A historian and former White House speechwriter argues the film reveals Melania's perfectionism, autonomy and the emotional distance in her marriage. The portrait emphasizes Melania's career as a model, her passion for clothing and craftsmanship, and a day-to-day existence that often appears separate from the President.

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