In the carefully curated documentary, “Melania,” we see countless shots of the first lady’s stilettos, moving effortlessly through all sorts of hallways, runways and carpets leading to waiting cars.
It’s not a warts-and-all look at Melania Trump, but a glimpse at the image she wants to present.
We first encountered what she verifies here — black and white are her favorite colors. She’s insistent when talking to designers; she’s telling when she poses for a photographer (like she’s a honcho on “The Apprentice”).
Melania Trump is shown in the documentary "Melania."
Mrs. Trump offers narration throughout, lets down her guard with party planners, and looks pleased when she offers her asides (“here we go again”).
But this doesn’t give as much as a Fox News Special might or — god forbid — a sit-down interview with one of the network anchors. She’s very much in control and won’t even take off those shoes after a long day of planning (they do go once they’re in the White House, but fleetingly).
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She’s quick with her husband on a phone call and doesn’t divulge what they whisper during the inauguration. For her, the 20 days leading to the address change involve picking furniture, hiring assistants and planning dinners.
Along the way, she talks about her late mother — who gave her a love for clothes — her son and her initiatives. But she doesn’t talk about her marriage, their relationship or her step-children.
The one playful moment comes when President Donald Trump is rehearsing a speech and she offers words that could sound more palatable. He agrees, then cautions filmmakers to cut the scene. It could have been staged, but it plays well when she finally smiles.
Melania and Donald Trump are shown in the documentary "Melania."
Directed by Brett Ratner (known for the “Rush Hour” films), “Melania” looks like a Ralph Lauren brand launch. The runway-like struts, the limo door openings and the lavish dinners all serve to feed the image.
Like her makeup, nothing seems amiss. And yet, if you listen to the music Ratner has selected, you get an undercurrent. Mrs. Trump also makes a point to thank the (largely immigrant) help and greets others like she’s a British royal.
Hardly a political screed, “Melania” is a millennial’s idea of a TikTok video. It makes you see the world she inhabits, but it doesn’t offer a wide shot that could show Mar-a-Lago or the Trumps’ apartment on Fifth Avenue as anything other than the height of elegance.
It’s their elegance, of course. But even the home movie-like segments (in some old-school grainy footage) look like they’ve been sanitized for our protection.
Thankfully, this isn’t the gaudy style that the president promotes in the Oval Office. It’s a Melania world that demonstrates what she thinks “be best” is.
