Decoding "Melania": An Expert Reads Between the Lines - Washingtonian

Critics widely describe Brett Ratner's new documentary about Melania Trump as long, glossy and largely unrevealing, using words like hagiographic, unimaginative, Sphinxlike and stultifying. The Bulwark called the work a pure and naked instrument of graft and propaganda that preaches to the faithful. A historian and former White House speechwriter argues the film reveals Melania's perfectionism, autonomy and the emotional distance in her marriage. The portrait emphasizes Melania's career as a model, her passion for clothing and craftsmanship, and a day-to-day existence that often appears separate from the President.

"Brett Ratner's new documentary about Melania Trump is long and glossy yet largely unrevealing-critics have said it has " the feel of a soothingly looped AI screensaver" and that it is " compelling as dental floss," " short on substance," and " a personality-study of a person who doesn't actually have one." They've used words like " hagiographic," "unimaginative," " Sphinxlike," and " stultifying." The Bulwark called it a "pure and naked instrument of graft and propaganda" that "preaches to the faithful with great reverence.""

"But Carl Sferazza Anthony takes a somewhat different view. He's an expert on First Ladies-a former speechwriter for Nancy Reagan who became a historian and journalist of the First Family-and he thinks the film does reveal important things about Melania Trump, including her perfectionism and the distance in her marriage. In a conversation on Tuesday, he offered some context from White Houses past while insisting that we take Melania on her own terms."

"What I got from the movie is that Melania Trump is basically autonomous. She doesn't seem to be living with the President. Her day-to-day life does not have very much to do with him. She's a glamorous person who is flying around and taking black cars places and meeting with fancy people- Yeah, she's walking across rooms in nice clothes. And that's what a model does, isn't it? But why would that be the image she wants to show the American people?"

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