Mariska Hargitay’s feature film directorial debut is something so incredibly personal that anyone who watches it shouldn’t take for granted that she and her family decided to tell this story in this way. In the documentary My Mom Jayne, Hargitay, best known for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, interviews her family about their memories of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a car accident when Hargitay was three years old. My Mom Jayne is moving in its vulnerability as Hargitay and her siblings recount confidential childhood memories, deftly weaving interviews, footage, pH๏τos, and lessons together.
My Mom Jayne Is An Insightful Look At Old Hollywood Fame & An Honest Family Story
Jayne Mansfield’s Children Are The Perfect Storytellers Of Her Trials With Fame
After an introduction to Hargitay’s quest to get to know her mother and a few of her siblings, who are her first round of interviews, there is a focus on the testimony of Jayne Marie Mansfield, the eldest child with the most memories of Jayne Mansfield. This sets up an interesting and powerful look at the actress’ rise to fame, told by children who stayed at the Plaza and grew up in a house with a heart-shaped pool. They are all refocusing their vision of what was happening, with the context they have as adults.
The cultural zeitgeist includes a few tales now about the rise and fall of old Hollywood icons, and Mansfield’s image was regularly compared to that of Marilyn Monroe. Mansfield was deeply affected by Monroe’s pᴀssing and started trying to move away from the “dumb blonde” persona that she had always performed. But Mansfield did not want this to be her story, and it isn’t through the eyes of her children. Hargitay and her siblings have complicated feelings about their mother being considered a Sєx symbol and her entering abusive relationships during their childhoods, which makes them very grounded interviewees.
But Mansfield did not want this to be her story, and it isn’t through the eyes of her children.
As the documentary goes into the years after her mother’s death, Hargitay’s focus and purpose shift from recalling a dreamy vision of her mother to conveying the chaos and doubt that plagued her when she discovered that Mickey Hargitay was not her biological father. She shares her darkest and deeply relatable thoughts sparked by this revelation, as well as the peace she found later when she decided she was ready to meet Nelson Sardelli; she established a good relationship with him, as well as his two daughters (her half-sisters).
As such, one part of this documentary is a bit disconnected from the other. It becomes less about deconstructing the figure of Jayne Mansfield and more about how Hargitay interacts with her family in later years, which gives the narrative a loss of focus. As a movie, it doesn’t show us the endpoint so much as Hargitay just says that she’s come to accept her mother and see herself in Jayne. She likely got there by way of time and reflection, not dramatic moments that make up a film.
My Mom Jayne’s Technical Aspects Carry It From Ethereal To Devastating To Heartwarming
Mariska Hargitay’s Personal Project Is Elevated By Good If Not Great Optics
My Mom Jayne isn’t anything groundbreaking in the way of filmmaking, but it demonstrates strong stylistic choices that pull everything together. Some beautiful filters and editing of old pH๏τos and footage render an ethereal ghost of Mansfield, which is how most of her children seem to remember her. Some moments are actually dazzling — when it’s revealed that Mansfield had become “the most pH๏τographed woman in show business,” it’s immediately followed by three camera flash sound effects, perfectly timed with the music and the three pH๏τos appearing.
It is a story from someone’s life told straight from the heart, as Hargitay accomplishes was she says is her mission of reclaiming this story
Hargitay worked with a talented crew on this project who were able to elevate her story, using sound and visuals to generate feelings of intrigue and something sinister brewing amid Mansfield’s Hollywood years, as well as true heartbreak and healing with the more present-day family scenes. I can truly say that My Mom Jayne is not a conventional movie, but it isn’t meant to be one. It’s a story from someone’s life told straight from the heart, and Hargitay accomplishes what she says is her mission — reclaiming this story.
