[.ca] Conversations with Brando (ISBN 081541014X)

Interesting:
This expanded on the PLAYBOY interview it's adapted from. Brando is a good storyteller, and tells some good stories in here. Grobel does preface the interview with phone call transcripts of him talking to Brando, and his secretary. And I know someone close to Brando, and some in the Brando camp felt some annoyance that Grobel taped the phone conversations without saying they were being taped. A bit presumptuous. But an interesting interview nonetheless.

Borderline genius/maniac!:
First of all, I would like to state that I consider Brando to be a true artist (something that he loathes himself), and he was simply amazing in his portrayal of Anthony in Julius Ceasar. Therfore, it was an easy decision to read this book, i.e., Conversations With Brando by Lawrence Grobel, Marlon Brando. The problem with Brando as a person is that after a while of complaining and say that everything is fake or phony, he sounds a bit like Holden Caufield and that is not a good thing. Granted that Brando is a smart, insightfull and intelligent man; however, there is a streak in his personality that is borders on the mind of a maniac.

As complicated & brilliant as its subject:
The interview that this book is based on was conducted before Brando filmed "Superman" but I can't imagine that Brando has changed much since. Grobel shows his skills as an interviewer by originally agreeing to only talk about the Native American cause with Brando but eventually teasing out anecdotes about acting, sex, stalkers, Brando's upbringing and much more. Grobel does not try to outsmart Brando, even while he is trying to sneak in forbidden acting/movie questions. He faces his subject head-on and when Brando chooses to speak about his hated profession, he is extremely entertaining. He shows Brando as a very complicated man who is hard to dislike - even if you don't agree with his politics, you come away from the book thinking that Brando is a charming, intelligent, thoughtful and super-talented individual who deserves all the praise for his acting skills. This interview could be considered his greatest performance - it comes from the same honesty that he invested his early screen and stage characters with.