MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE – Review

Leonard Cohen and his one-time lover and muse Marianne Ihlen are the subject of the documentary MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE. Leonard Cohen is a legendary figure in pop music, whose songs include “Hallelujah,” “Susanne,” and “So Long, Marianne,” the later written about his muse. However, music fans hungry for a film that offers insight on the Canadian-born poet/novelist/singer/songwriter and his artistry may feel let down by this documentary. The order of names in the documentary title is important, as the film focuses more on Marianne and her sad decline after the end of their romance, shortly after Leonard achieved a degree of fame in the folk music movement of the 1960s. However, Marianne’s story is really only told in terms of her relationship with Leonard, rather than in her own right. The film is a sad, at times gossipy, examination of the fall and decline of a muse more than it is a exploration of Leonard Cohen’s work that was inspired by her or her role as the muse he called her. While one might expect the film to give insight into Marianne’s role in Leonard’s life over their long friendship, how she inspired and supported him emotionally, the film settles for merely repeating that she was his muse.

Still the documentary does have some value. Early concert footage of Cohen is one of the highlights of the film, as well as interview footage with music legend Judy Collins,offering insights on Cohen in his early days as a performer. A little biographical background on Cohen and his family in Canada is included, although not as much as one might want.

The title includes the phrase “words of love” but the romantic love fades pretty quickly in this sad story, although Leonard continued to acknowledge Marianne’s role as his muse and early supporter, as their relationship evolved into friendship. Leonard and Marianne met on the Greek island of Hydra, when Cohen was still a novelist. Marianne Ihlen was a beautiful, young, recently-divorced Norwegian woman with a small son named Axel, and they fell in love. The couple seemed to have had an idyllic domestic life as the writer worked on his last novel. But when that book, much of it written under the influence of LSD, met with withering criticism and failure, Cohen decided a change was needed and traveled alone to New York. There he discovered – and was discovered by – the vibrant folk music scene of Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and other musical greats. Leonard did not intend to abandon Marianne and, if fact, sent for her after achieving some success as a singer/songwriter, but the spell of the island was broken. Not an artist herself, Marianne did not feel comfortable in New York, so she and her son, to whom Leonard had been a father, returned to the once-quiet artist colony on Hydra. Unfortunately, Hydra itself had changed, becoming a drug-drenched party playground for the rich and famous, such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, in the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll ’60s.

The documentary enthusiastically spends a great deal of time detailing the ’60s party excesses on Hydra. The film traces Marianne’s tragic decline, although the more tragic story is the fate of her son, who was neglected in her heartbreak at the end of her love affair. Although Leonard continued to provide financial support, Marianne was still in love with him and felt his absence strongly.

There is often a shallow, tabloid feel to this biographical film. Director Nick Bloomfield spends a lot of time detailing Cohen’s heavy drug use and his sexual exploits, often including splashy period headlines and archival footage of the excesses of the ’60s, particularly on Hydra. The facts may be true but the sensationalist approach are probably not what Leonard Cohen fans most want in a documentary about the singer/songwriter, nor does it give a full telling of Marianne’s own personal story. Hopefully, someone will make another documentary that offers more insight on the multi-talented Leonard Cohen.

MARIANNE AND LEONARD opens, Friday, July 26, at Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars