Breaking Down "Secret Life" Part 10/10

Breaking Down "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" final part 10/10. Before continuing, please check out the previous parts of my review so that you’re all caught up! Trigger warnings: suicide

Links are here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

THE MOVIE(1): Marilyn is invited to perform at JFK’s birthday gala in New York. She is teased about being late.

REAL LIFE(2): We all know this to be one of the most memorable events in history: the night Marilyn sang happy birthday to President Kennedy. Marilyn had a reputation of being late to things such as events, parties, work, and the like. When being introduced at the gala, Peter Lawford jokingly asked the audience to welcome “the late Marilyn Monroe.” What makes this introduction so poignant is that this would be one of Marilyn’s final public appearances before her sudden death only a few short months later. Marilyn attended this gala on May 19, 1962, much to her studio’s disapproval. They had originally granted her permission to fly to New York to perform, but at the last minute changed their minds because they were so behind on filming. Marilyn, understandably, still chose to go anyways. She would be fired from Fox a month later.

From "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe"

May 19, 1962: JFK's birthday gala in New York

THE MOVIE(2): Marilyn and friend Pat Lawford, wife of Peter Lawford, are taking a walk on the beach. Marilyn soon goes on a tirade about how it should be her with President Kennedy instead of Jackie. Pat says: “Stop living in a dream world.”

REAL LIFE(2): As we’ve covered in the previous installments of this review, Marilyn was absolutely by no means paranoid or delusional over Jackie or John Kennedy. There are no eye witness accounts or accounts by close friends or reliable sources to substantiate any type of delusion whatsoever. Marilyn was not picturing a life with the President, nor did she ever have anything against Jackie. The way The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe book and movie portrays this area is horribly inaccurate to say the least.

From "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe"

THE MOVIE(3): The movie then cuts back to Marilyn’s house and her conversation with Dr. DeShields, and the day is noticeably coming to an end. Marilyn has greatly opened up to this new therapist over the course of this interview. She has trusted him with her entire life story. She wants to continue working with him after this day, as she says: “You’re different from Dr. Greenson. You don’t tell me what to do.”

REAL LIFE(3): Marilyn did have a long session with Greenson the day she died. He arrived at Marilyn’s house at approximately 4:30pm, and did not leave until about 7pm. We can assume this session did not go well, as Marilyn’s secretary Pat Newcomb was asked to leave by Dr. Greenson. Marilyn was annoyed with him for doing so but promised to speak to Pat soon. The movie also implies that Marilyn would have liked to work with a new therapist, however there is nothing to suggest Marilyn was planning to fire Greenson any time soon or work with another doctor. Shortly after Dr. Greenson left her that day, Joe DiMaggio Jr. was finally able to get a call through to Marilyn, as her housekeeper Eunice Murray had been telling him all day that Marilyn was unavailable. Marilyn was in “high spirits” and happy during this call with her former stepson, as Joe Jr. was announcing the news to her that he broke off the engagement to his fiancé; Marilyn had been against him marrying so young. However, it was shortly after this cheery phone call that everything became dark and Marilyn’s fate was set in motion.

THE MOVIE(4): A distraught Marilyn stumbles down her hallway carrying a bottle of alcohol in one hand. She sits down on her bed and begins taking some sleeping pills. After a night of tossing and turning, she turns the light on to retrieve a picture frame off of her nightstand. The photo inside is of her as a baby with her mother. She takes the photo and pulls it into bed with her, where she slowly passes away.

REAL LIFE(4): The picture frame scenario never happened, and was added in for dramatic effect. Another major thing portrayed in the film that never happened was this: Marilyn was NOT drunk the night she died NOR did she consume ANY alcohol whatsoever. Her pathology results conclude with the fact that there was no alcohol in her system that night. This is a scenario that is constantly being repeated in various books, documentaries, and magazines. Marilyn was not intoxicated the night she died and that is just a fact. However, other than the alcohol situation, her death is portrayed pretty accurately. Which is kind of shocking. You would think a film which is already host to a plethora of inaccuracies such as Marilyn becoming psychotic, hearing voices, and being obsessed with JFK, you would think her death would end in something crazy like murder. That wasn’t the case here. In real life, Marilyn Monroe passed away from an overdose of sleeping pills. And that’s all there is to it. Although the story of her death has been dissected and fabricated and blown out of proportion for so long, including unnecessary convoluted accounts from people like Eunice Murray, the only real question regarding her passing is this: accidental or intentional? This is something we are simply never going to know. Did Marilyn have a suicidal impulse that night and choose to end her own life, only realizing her mistake when it was too late and that is when she called Peter Lawford and Ralph Roberts for help? Or did she simply forget what she had taken and consumed far too many pills? These are the real questions. Nowhere does murder, the Kennedys, or conspiracy theories factor in. There is absolutely nothing regarding her death that even suggests murder. If this movie had not included the part about her drinking that night, it would have been a pretty accurate representation of her death.

This review has really been a journey, and I've learned a lot about Marilyn through this process. Thank you so much for reading it, and for all the support. I hope you learned something new!

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