'Martha' review: Stewart documentary never gets handle on its subject

WHAT IT'S ABOUT The prolific documentarian R.J. Cutler, whose past subjects have included everyone from Anna Wintour to Dick Cheney, turns his camera toward another figure of great cultural significance in "Martha."

The Great Neck native chronicles the life and times of Martha Stewart, spanning from her childhood in Nutley, New Jersey, through her years as a stockbroker,  caterer,  author, and finally, preeminent lifestyle maven.

Structured around an interview with Stewart, who remains tight-lipped and circumspect when it comes to discussing certain difficult moments, the movie gives equal weight to the highs of her success and the lows that came with it, especially her five months in federal prison after being found guilty of lying in an insider trading case, among other charges.

MY SAY A fascinating person does not necessarily make a fascinating documentary subject.

No one could question the impact Stewart has had on the culture, through decades spent promulgating the idea that a nice and beautiful life should be attainable for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

But she makes for a tough person to profile. For one thing, she tightly controls her image. She's seen passing on questions or seeking a change of topic on multiple occasions, both in the Cutler interview and in the file footage he incorporates.

She delves into some of the traumas she has experienced, but only to a point, and we're often left wondering if we're seeing the real Martha or a carefully assembled version for the camera.

At times, she seems to be participating in the documentary mostly to settle scores with people — including James Comey (yes, that James Comey), who prosecuted her when he was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Then there's the fact that scenes showcasing her gorgeously composed food spreads and interior decorative flourishes, her houseware items and other products, do not exactly lend themselves to compelling cinema. 

Cutler pushes a bit. He brings in testimony from people who offer up some criticisms of her alleged temperament, and there's one grim moment captured on camera from just before her 2004 sentencing that shows her hectoring an employee over the size of the knife she's using to cut an orange.

The prison sequence is the strongest bit of pure filmmaking in the picture, captured as a montage of different days during the stay, narrated with Stewart's journal of her experiences and given visual life through sketches.

But the story of "Martha" otherwise gets told with a by-the-numbers collection of stills, the occasional bit of old footage, and off-camera testimony from people who have known the subject. Cutler rarely elevates the movie beyond that realm.

If you're interested in this story, you'll get something out of the movie, but you won't leave it with any greater understanding.

Cutler frames Stewart as the first "influencer," the progenitor of an entire online generation today. And while that's undoubtedly true, or at least a defendable argument, there's little offered in the movie that captures why it really matters.

BOTTOM LINE Martha Stewart is a very difficult subject and the filmmaker never really gets a handle on her.