True or not, Professor Martson and the Wonder Women (2017) is a well-crafted story. As with all biopics, there’s some controversy about how much of this film is accurate to what really happened, and in this case, it’s mostly about sex. And to me, that’s the part that makes it a good movie — not necessarily the sex (it’s not explicit) but the love story between the two women, which is conjecture according to a family member.
Told through flashbacks, we see Professor Bill Martson (Luke Evans) teaching psychology at Harvard, where his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) has been refused the PhD she’s earned, and it’s implied that she’s contributed significantly to his research and work. They take on a teaching assistant, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote), who they don’t realize is related to feminist pioneer Margaret Sanger. Soon enough, the three fall into a love triangle, though not the most typical one — things start between Olive and Elizabeth then include Bill, and throughout the entire movie, the relationship between the women is paramount.
Historical accounts differ, suggesting that Bill started an affair with Olive and gave Elizabeth an ultimatum to let the new girl move in or he would leave his wife. But it suits writer-director Angela Robinson better to tell the story as “how did he [Martson] get to Wonder Woman, and how he got there was through his relationship with these two women.” It comes off far less patriarchal and male gaze-y when the two women are in love with each other and choose to be in this three-way relationship of their own accord. The film probably makes their story into more of an idealized polyamorous threesome than it may have been. So, enjoyable to watch as a movie, but don’t kid yourself that this was how it went down or that this was precisely the inspiration for the Wonder Woman comic.
The action begins in the late 1920s and progresses through the 1940s, showing a nice progression of clothing and hairstyle changes. I’d like to have seen a little bit of aging on the actors, like a touch of grey hair or a little paunch. The costuming includes one or two bits of period fetish undergarments, though it’s barely risque. The prototype of the Wonder Woman outfit is as wild as it gets.
Are you a fan of Wonder Woman? How much do you know about the history behind the comic?
we loved this film, mildly titillating, and nicely acted. As you said, not ruined by male gaze-y bullshit, we liked it enough to buy a copy…and lent it to my dad, who LOVED it lol
My wife and I also loved the film and bought a copy of it! It is a good addition to our queer movies library.. I think I liked it so much because it didn’t give me a feeling of toxic masculinity but of a relationship built on mutual respect. Also: Great actors and lovely costumes!
I’ve read Jill Lepore’s book The Secret History of Wonder Woman. In the book, Elizabeth comes around to accepting the relationship between her husband and Olive because it means that she can continue to work since Olive takes on the more traditional wifely roles, raising all their kids.
I have been a Wonder Woman fan since the 40’s, and was aware of the behind-the-scenes story from somewhere in the 70’s. I find it interesting that Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot have bonded over their shared role – not in the same way as the wives, but nonetheless.
I’m watching the movie now. I really adore the movie recommendations I see on here. Thank you!
I was very intrigued by the premise of this movie, but ultimately it left me feeling lukewarm. I’ve enjoyed all of the actors in other projects–they are all very talented and very photogenic–but their chemistry left something to be desired. The costumes, as you say, are very good. I enjoyed the look of the movie very much.