This documentary relates the story of Heddy Lamarr’s life as told through her children, various friends, and Hollywood acquaintances. I didn’t know much about her, so I found the film to be informative. What I was expecting from the trailers was a richer and deeper story of her knack for invention. The movie is a very linear telling of her life in which her invention of shifting frequencies (initially designed for “smart torpedoes” during WWII and has a number of important applications today) was a small part. I learned a lot about Lamarr as an actress and as a woman who was fiercely independent in Hollywood at a time when that independence was not respected by studio executives. For that, I give the film a thumbs-up, but I really would have enjoyed knowing more about her scientific endeavors. This is a movie that doesn’t need to be seen on the big screen to appreciate.
