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Call Me Kate

2023 1h 26m Biography Documentary List
Reviews 60% Audience Score Fewer than 50 Ratings
Katharine is deeply private. For decades she refuses to collect her Oscars or give interviews. She shies away from the press. Her autobiography Me is compelling not for what she says, but for how much she holds back. She glosses over her family history of mental illness, suicide, toxic relationships, and deep insecurities -- yet these are the bricks that built her. Our audience experiences an intimate revelation, the truth behind the beautiful, chiseled, public face. We celebrate a radical and pioneering woman of profound influence, who doesn't fit into any of the 'boxes' expected of her. Throughout her life, she wears various female identities: daughter, sister, actress, beauty, wife, girlfriend, victim, superstar. It takes great loss and hard won insight to be happy just being Kate. Call Me Kate is also a movie for the outcasts, the misfits, the girls and boys uncomfortable in their own skin, who don't conform with traditional expectations. It is the universal story of how -- like Kate -- we must be true to ourselves, not the forces that shape us. Read More Read Less

Audience Reviews

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Jeff M While I consider Meryl Streep the greatest actor of all time, I think Katharine Hepburn is the greatest celebrity of all time, an endlessly fascinating and unique persona unlike anyone we've ever seen before or sense. Being the cinema-holic that I am, it's rare to find a Hollywood documentary that I feel truly educates me about its subject above and beyond my prior knowledge. In this case, Hepburn was so private and enigmatic during her lifetime that much of what is uncovered here, most notably about her pre-Hollywood days, feels revelatory. This is a respectful, non-exploitative film whose only real problem is its meager 86 minute running time. I could have watched this for hours and hours. I wish this had been like Ethan Hawke's tribute to Newman and Woodward, THE LAST MOVIE STARS, which ran for six episodes. Hepburn was indeed a one-of-a-kind talent, and this documentary is a fitting tribute. By the way, if you haven't done so, I'd encourage you to find on YouTube Dick Cavett's interview with Hepburn - it's really terrific. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/24 Full Review Felix T A riches to riches story that did not appeal to me on any level. I enjoyed her later work along with her work with Spencer Tracy, but, as is so often the case, knowing the person behind the character is seldom a pleasant or uplifting experience and just detracts from the performance. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/28/23 Full Review Maggie L There are a few bright spots in the documentary - home movies of the actress (footage I've never seen), interviews with her nephew and with Spencer Tracey's grandson and great grandson. I don't understand why there is a clip of ALICE ADAMS under a voice over that states it was "a miss" in Hepburn's career. She was nominated for an Academy Award and it launched George Stevens as a director. Missteps like that make me shudder. What else is incorrect? ALICE ADAMS is one of the great cinematic comic/dramas. The adaptation of the novel is spectacular. The casting is perfect. Stevens' direction is superb. And Miss Hepburn is magnificent. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/26/23 Full Review dave d A documentary about the great Katherine Hepburn which doesn't tell us anything new, but continues to dance around her sexuality for no reason in particular. This is not a necessary film, despite being well constructed. Using a few talking heads, but most notably Hepburn's nephew, 'Call Me Kate' doesn't feel fresh. Not sure why we're doing this, it is 2023 and who cares. Nice for some of the nostalgia, but can't we let the very private Hepburn rest in peace? Final Score: 5/10 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Call Me Kate

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Movie Info

Synopsis Katharine is deeply private. For decades she refuses to collect her Oscars or give interviews. She shies away from the press. Her autobiography Me is compelling not for what she says, but for how much she holds back. She glosses over her family history of mental illness, suicide, toxic relationships, and deep insecurities -- yet these are the bricks that built her. Our audience experiences an intimate revelation, the truth behind the beautiful, chiseled, public face. We celebrate a radical and pioneering woman of profound influence, who doesn't fit into any of the 'boxes' expected of her. Throughout her life, she wears various female identities: daughter, sister, actress, beauty, wife, girlfriend, victim, superstar. It takes great loss and hard won insight to be happy just being Kate. Call Me Kate is also a movie for the outcasts, the misfits, the girls and boys uncomfortable in their own skin, who don't conform with traditional expectations. It is the universal story of how -- like Kate -- we must be true to ourselves, not the forces that shape us.
Director
Lorna Tucker
Producer
Nick Taussig, Sophie Harmer
Screenwriter
Lorna Tucker
Distributor
Netflix
Genre
Biography, Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 12, 2023
Runtime
1h 26m