Ellen Burstyn received Venice’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement on September 7, as the festival presented Flesh Impact, the short film in which she plays an imagined 100-year-old Marilyn Monroe. At 93, Burstyn shares the role with Dakota Johnson in a film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal brought the idea to Burstyn at her apartment. “It sounded like a good idea to me,” Burstyn told the Associated Press. The director pictured Monroe at 100 doing an audition alone on a stage, and Burstyn was the first actor she thought of.
Two actors playing Marilyn Monroe
Johnson plays Monroe during the height of her fame. Burstyn plays an older version whose life the film imagines beyond the one Monroe actually lived. Peter Sarsgaard and Sepideh Moafi also appear.
The project marks the centenary of Monroe’s birth. Genesis presented the film, which was made with the approval of the Monroe estate holders, Authentic Brands Group.
In her director’s statement, Gyllenhaal describes researching Monroe’s work, family, teachers and approach to acting. She says the film is about being an artist in public, with a particular interest in the experience of actresses.
A career recognized in Venice
The Golden Lion honors Burstyn’s career across film, television and theater.
Her films include The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Requiem for a Dream and Interstellar. In 1975, she won an Oscar for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and a Tony for Same Time, Next Year on Broadway.
Her television awards include Emmys for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2009 and Political Animals in 2013. She later returned as Chris MacNeil in The Exorcist: Believer.
Flesh Impact is screening in Venice Open, the festival’s out-of-competition section. The public program lists further September 8 screenings at Sala Volpi and Astra 2.
Find the cast and film details on our Flesh Impact page.
Gyllenhaal also discussed an abandoned visual-effects experiment. Read about the AI test on Johnson’s performance.
