Starlight
Genre: Drama
Director: Todd Haynes
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Sydney Sweeney, Chris Evans, Jeff Goldblum, Cristin Milioti, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Kyle McLachlan, Will Patton, Giovanni Ribisi, Pamela Anderson
Plot: “Everybody loves Linda Rose,” a voice speaks softly.
After honing her craft in regional theater, Linda Rose (Jennifer Lawrence) debuted in Hollywood as Sal Mineo’s bookish crush in 1956 high school pic Teenager’s Delight. Within a few short years, she was elevated from reliable supporting player to leading lady in both dramas and comedies. Her fierce, quick-witted personality harkened back to the Barbara Stanwycks of yesteryear and made her a formidable screen partner with whoever they put across from her.
The year is 1966. Linda, 33, is at the grand Chicago Theater for the special premiere of her latest film Inferno, an ensemble epic about the Great Chicago Fire. Ever the social butterfly, she makes her rounds and makes small talk with her peers, including co-star Peter Grand (Chris Evans) - one of the defining sex symbols of 60s Hollywood. They talk about how they think the movie is going to play and both agree it is going to stink. She finally finds who she’s been looking for: Lew Wasserman (Jeff Goldblum), her one-time agent and now the head of Universal Pictures. She was always one of his favorites but now the dynamics are a bit different with his powerful role. He can already sense what she wants to talk about. She was recently nominated for an Academy Award for a fourth time but once again came up empty-handed. What’s it finally going to take? Lew stews on this and tells her he thinks the Academy wants to see her try something new. She asks if he means like directing her own movie like Peter’s about to attempt and he says they both know that’s practically impossible. But he might have a script that would limit her a bit and he thinks the audience would be there for it because, after all, everybody loves Linda Rose. She leans in, curious. “How would you feel about a musical?,” he asks. She looks nervous but…intrigued.
Meanwhile, Peter escapes to an alley out back for a breath of fresh air. He’s startled by the presence of a striking young woman (Sydney Sweeney), who he tells he’s not doing autographs. She takes a long pull from her cigarette and then asks who he is. He chuckles, although unsure if she really means that or not. She’s dressed modestly, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of everyone in the ballroom. His eyes can’t help but ogle at her body but she redirects his attention by offering him a cigarette. He takes it and asks what she does. She’s a waitress. He asks if she works here and she says no. He asks what brought her here and she says she’s here to see the movie stars. He chuckles again. “So you are a crazed fan.” She cracks a smile herself and says not quite. She then turns the tables to ask him a question; has he ever romanced his co-star Linda Rose in real life. He tells her not to believe everything he reads in the magazines. He and Linda are strictly friends. She puts out her cigarette and asks if he can tell his friend that her family will be waiting in the diner down the street. As she walks away, Peter allows himself to fully admire her and finds himself dumbfounded by her revelation. “I didn’t even know Linda had a family,” he mutters to himself.
The film premieres. It’s a dud. Afterwards, Peter tracks down Linda and lets her know of his odd encounter outside. Her face drops, indicating to him that those really are her relatives. She thanks him for letting her know and apologizes for them bothering him. He says it’s fine and starts to walk away before turning back. He realizes he never got her sister’s name. It’s Jane, she says. He says he can see the resemblance.
Linda covers herself up to be as incognito as possible as she enters a small diner. In booth number four sits Jane, her young son, and a disheveled older man. Let’s call him Pat (Will Patton). He is beaming from ear to ear when he spots Linda, despite her look of embarrassment. She asks how long the drive was from Nebraska and Pat says it was worth it to see their sweet Linda. She doesn’t seem amused by this comment. Linda turns to the young boy and asks his name. He is too shy so Jane steps in and says Eli. She then takes a long look at Jane and says she looks much different than last time she saw her. Jane says that happens when you don’t visit your family for over 15 years. Linda quietly says she sent a card when Eli was born. Pat steps in and says they’re so proud the work she’s doing, as is everyone in their hometown. “And your mom would be, too,” he adds. Linda flinches at this comment before she says that they can’t just show up out of the blue and surprise her like this, accosting her co-workers along the way. She’s worked hard to maintain a certain public persona, which is important in her line of work. Pat says they aren’t looking for money or anything, just saw that she would be in the Midwest and acted on the opportunity. She thanks them for coming but says she has an early morning flight and so she must be getting some rest. As she’s getting up, Eli asks what her why she didn’t come to his birthday party. She pauses and says she must have been busy making this movie. She starts to leave but then asks him how old he turned. He holds out his right hand and she happily exclaims “Five! That’s a big one!”. Her face is of mixed emotions when she walks away.
A few weeks after she gets back to Hollywood, Linda officially inks a deal to star in King for a Day, a big-budget costume musical from Universal. But her attention is caught elsewhere, a headline about Peter Grand’s directorial debut, Adam & Eve.
“Interestingly, opposite of Grand will star Jane Donovan, 24—a small-town girl from Nebraska who he’s seemingly plucked out of obscurity.”
Some time later…
Jane tries to keep her hair out of her face as Peter’s convertible cruises down the Pacific Coast Highway. They are returning to his house in the hills where, upon their arrival, Jane finds Eli playing with the nanny that Peter hired for them. She embraces her son and asks him about his day. Peter watches on with a smile. After a minute, he asks her to follow him up to his den. On the way, she asks why he is acting suspicious. In the room, she sits on lap as he reveals he has been working with the writer to help put more of a spotlight on Jane. She doesn’t know what to say and he says she doesn’t have to say anything as he takes her top off. “Shouldn’t we go down and get dinner started?,” she asks. “What do you think I’m paying the nanny for? This will only take a minute.” She gives him an “oh really?” look. He laughs and says that’s not what he meant, before leaning in for a kiss.
On the set of King for a Day, Linda is practicing her lines as she is fitted for her costume. She plays a lowly royal servant who temporarily subsumes the crown after the King falls ill on a cross-country trip. She is struggling with the singing parts and is frustrated at finding something seemingly out of her range. The director Roger Caldwell (Kyle MacLachlan) pays her a visit and says that there has been a change to the script: her character now has a child. Linda freezes, knowing what this means. Hollywood will now see her leaving behind her ingénue image to take on more motherly roles. And the value of women in Hollywood decreases dramatically after that point. Roger says that she is the one being dramatic; it’s much more common for women to have children at a much younger age than she is now. She says she is well aware of this. She begs for him to revert to the older version and instead give her the chance for one last big swing before facing a crossroads at her career. He says he’ll do that on one condition: she agrees to let the studio hire a vocal coach to help her hit her notes. She agrees and he immediately welcomes in Olivia (Cristin Milioti). Linda is offended, as the studio had already seemingly made that decision for her.
On the set of Adam & Eve, frustrations are on the rise for a different reason: Jane can’t act. Of course Peter knew this going in but he suddenly feels in over his head in his first directing capacity. In private, he is trying and failing to figure out what to say in a way that won’t hurt her feelings. As such, he pulls in the movie’s screenwriter to help him come up with some lines to give. He delivers them verbatim to Jane but it backfires spectacularly as the polished dialogue fails to land with her plain-spoken sensibilities. She storms off and Peter’s face is tinged with regret.
Olivia is the opposite of Linda in many ways. She’s brunette, bubbly, and most of all patient—particularly in the face of Linda’s singing struggles. Although Linda is initially resistant to the training, Olivia’s resume is undeniable as the film industry’s go-to ghost singer. While she’s never appeared on screen, her voice has been heard in some of Hollywood’s most well-known soundtracks. Linda can tell that this type of work eats Olivia a bit; she carries the bulk of the work but always in the shadows (and thus none of the recognition). Olivia dismisses Linda's concern and says she likes the niche she has carved out for herself.
Jane tries to take her mind off of things by taking Eli to a grab a bite to eat at a small burger stand. She asks him how he is enjoying California and he raves about Peter’s home and the the beach and—he takes a big bite—the burgers! He asks about the movie and she says it is going well, paired with a big smile on her face. In that moment, she feels a sense of betrayal from herself by being dishonest with her son. She starts to tear up but furiously wipes it away before he can notice. She is approached by a woman who introduces herself as Zelda Charles (Parker Posey), a reporter for the Hollywood Herald. Jane is a bit startled and says she’s not doing any interviews at the moment. Zelda laughs and says she is not looking for one. She has just heard rumblings of a new starlet on the scene and felt it was her due diligence to see it for herself. She looks Jane up and down and admits that the rumors seem true. She hands Jane her business card and says it’s always good to know people in this town. After Zelda is gone, Eli asks who that was and Jane admits she doesn’t know. As they leave, they come across a newsstand and Jane realizes the Hollywood Herald is a gossip rag for which Zelda is the star columnist.
To her own surprise, Linda has warmed up to Olivia. Not only has her singing improved, but she has also been helping Olivia learn some of the tricks and trades of acting, making it a mutually beneficial partnership. Olivia asks Linda why she has never been married. Linda says maybe she doesn’t know everything about her personal life. Olivia looks surprised and asks if she has been married. Linda laughs and says no, she hasn’t been. She has been a career-focused woman and finds that a marriage would distract from that. And anyways, she hasn’t found a man in Hollywood worthy of her time. Olivia points out that she is Linda Rose, she could probably get any man she wants. Their hands briefly touch and they glance into each other’s eyes. A sense of connection. Linda then quickly pulls away and says maybe she doesn’t know what she wants. She then smirks and reveals that she was almost married once, but that didn’t come to fruition.
Linda pulls her director aside and tells him that she would like to create a role in the movie for her character to have a servant of her own. Roger likes it, commenting that it creates a mirror to her character’s own journey. She then says the role will be played by Olivia. Roger guffaws at this, saying Olivia has never acted before. She’s a voice for hire but acting is it’s own thing. Linda now uses her own leverage to put her foot down and say that the change will be made.
Meanwhile, Peter is beginning to get in over his head and is worried that a flop will put his directing career to a halt after only one film. He comes to Jane with a radical solution: what if Adam disappears early into the film and the film is Eve’s journey through Eden as she seeks to find him? It would eliminate all of Eve’s dialogue and make it a silent-yet-central performance. Jane is taken aback at first, unsure whether to feel insulted or excited. Ultimately, she likes the challenge and admits that she’s never seen a film like that. Peter calls in his assistant and tells her to contact the screenwriter about updating the script. Realizing that she has something on the line here, too, Jane tells him that there is no dialogue then the audience will want something else in its place. He gives her a curious look before she motions towards her body. With hesitation in his voice, he says the censors are a tough crowd. She tells him to look around; it’s not the fifties anymore. If he wants to make a splash, then let’s make a splash. He smiles and says it’s time to get wet.
A few weeks later, Linda takes her agent out to dinner at Musso & Frank’s to discuss how King for a Day is wrapping up nicely. While there, she spots Peter with a group of his closest confidants-bodyguards, lesser actors, and a few beautiful women sprinkled between them. She perks up at the opportunity to meddle in her sister’s business. She approaches the table and they exchange pleasantries and he asks how the new movie is going. She can sense a sly smile in this question. She tells him it’s not been easy but she’s looking forward to the finished product. Rather than asking him the same, she instead says she has heard about how his film has been getting increasingly…risqué. His yes men give a mocking laugh at this statement. Her eyes remain locked on Peter as she says she’s not foolish, she sees what he’s doing here with his casting of Jane. Her gaze glances to his hands resting on the bosoms of the two women seated next to him. Back at him. “She’s got wonderful things to say about you,” he says with his easy arrogance, much to her chagrin.
When Christmastime rolls around, Linda invites Jane and Eli over to her mansion for a Christmas Eve lunch. Jane is on the fence about accepting but she decides that creating happy memories for Eli is the most important thing. Peter supports this decision but says he will not be joining.
After knocking on the grand doors to Linda’s mansion, Jane is surprised that it is not Linda who answers. Instead, it is a smiling older man (Greg Kinnear). He goes to hug Jane but she keeps him at arm’s length. Linda enters and says that if they are going to have a full family reunion, she had to invite their father.
As Eli naps, the trio hash out their misgivings. Jane asks how Linda could possibly contact their father after she cheated on their mother and split up their family when Jane was only an infant. Vincent looks surprised and asks if that is what her mother told her. "There's something we need to talk about, Jane, about why Mom and Dad separated,” Linda says. The truth is that his job as a traveling salesman took a toll on their relationship. She developed a secret affair with Pat, who she knew from church. Knowing he was already often absent anyways, Vincent proceeded with the divorce and let their mom take full custody, while still sending money to them in secret over the years. Jane is not any more content after hearing this story, saying they can’t just bombard her like this. Vincent says he was surprised as anyone when Linda reached out, though he has obviously been following her career from afar. Jane wakes Eli up and says it is time to leave. Vincent is apologetic and Linda tells him that he doesn’t have to be. She wants to say more to Jane but her sister is already out the door.
Jane calls up Zelda and decides to spill all about her relationship with Linda. That they’re sisters. That Linda abandoned her fiancé at the alter and then abandoned her family in search of stardom. Zelda is eating all of this up, given how private Linda is about her history.
Linda is in shambles upon seeing herself on the front of all the gossip rags. Even worse, the studios have latched on to this story and are now making it a part of the marketing campaigns for both films. Linda visits the Universal head offices, where Lew is cautious to meet with her. She is apoplectic and says that this feels like a betrayal. He insists that this helps keep her name relevant and will ultimately help the film. She asks if he can lean on the censorship board to try and delay the release of “Forbidden Fruit” - the rumored new title of Adam & Eve, emphasizing the boundary-pushing imagery. Lew says this is risky as he does not want to hurt Universal’s chances at making a Peter Grand picture in the future. Linda says he is at risk of making a Linda Rose picture in the future with how things are going. He gives her a knowing look and nods.
Jack Valenti (Giovanni Ribisi), president of the Motion Picture Association of America, sits in a stunned silence amidst his trusted censorship board. They have just seen Peter’s most recent cut of Eve and stamp it with an X rating for its violence and especially its nudity. Peter is a veteran at Hollywood backroom-dealing, so he has already thought a few steps ahead. He confronts the MPAA offices with a hand-written letter from esteemed film critic Pauline Kael, who was also screened the same version and has declared the film a true piece of art and sign of progression for the American film industry. Valenti, knowing Kael’s support could sway public opinion in favor of the film, tells Peter that he must cut a handful of shots and the film will go down to an R rating. Peter shakes Jack’s hand, flashes his signature movie star smile, and agrees.
In bed, a scantily-clad Jack thanks his assistant for forging the Kael letter for him.
The movies are released to varying levels of acclaim. King for a Day is a major flop, signaling the definitive end of the big-budget Hollywood musical. But most critics agree that Linda is really going for it and commend her for stepping out of her comfort zone. Forbidden Fruit, on the other hand, is a runaway success—particularly with the college-aged demographic. Critics say there is an undeniable draw to Jane’s largely silent performance, harkening back to the Classical Hollywood starlets of yesteryear. Both Linda and Jane are nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
On the night before the ceremony, Zelda gives Jane a call to ask how she is feeling about the big day. Jane says that she does not plan on attending. She is becoming disillusioned by this whole Hollywood thing and hasn’t got anything to wear, anyways. About an hour later, Jane gets another phone call; this time it’s from Linda. She tells the story about her first Oscar nomination and how she didn’t end up attending because she was shooting a film that day. Her absence was a big news story, exclaiming that she disrespected the industry that had been gracious to her. They both laugh at the same time at this rosy portrayal of Hollywood from the press. Linda asks about Jane’s dress size and Jane jokes that they’re sisters, shouldn’t she know this by now.
Jane arrives at Linda’s home and finds a box of dresses her size waiting for her. As she tries on different ones, Linda gives her honest opinion. She also dishes out some extra honesty when she reveals that the reason she ran away from home is that Pat started making increasingly inappropriate remarks around her. And chasing this felt like some sort of escape. Jane gives her a hug and Linda wants to ask something further but holds her tongue. Jane is holding back tears and says that she knows that Peter is cheating on her, hence why she didn’t want to attend the ceremony tomorrow. She then asks if Linda and Peter ever had a thing. “God no!” Linda quickly says. Jane says well at least that is one thing that he wasn’t lying about. “How am I supposed to go in front of all those cameras and look happy sitting next to him?” she asks. “Well, you’re an actor, aren’t you? So act!” her older sister commands.
At the Academy Awards, Linda and Jane are seated near each other as the cameras play up their dynamic. Best Actress is up. Jane is murmuring to herself what her speech would be. Linda meanwhile is at a peaceful calm, with Olivia seated to her right. Linda leans over and whispers that she believes Jane will win. Sidney Poitier takes the stage to announce the winner: Jane Donovan for Forbidden Fruit. The room is stunned into a hush before bursting in applause. No one is as shocked as Jane, who isn’t sure what to do. She hugs Peter, hiding her disdain, and then turns to say something to Linda. Linda is looking off into the distance, with no acknowledgement of her sister. Olivia whispers to her to remember to smile. Jane accepts the award and the only person that she thanks is her son Eli for being her rock in life. Linda claps softly to herself at the conclusion of the speech.
Afterwards, Linda attends the post-show part but is a bit despondent. Lew gives her a long hug and says that he is proud of her. She goes to the bathroom where she scolds herself in the mirror for being upset over something so frivolous. Another actress enters the bathroom and, upon seeing Linda, remarks that she must be ecstatic for her sister. Surely those gossip columnists are exaggerating the rift, right? Linda smiles and says she is truly happy for her sister. Jane, meanwhile, skips the parties and goes to a 24-hour diner instead. After the woman takes her order, she comments that Jane looks familiar and asks what she does. Jane smiles and says she’s a waitress.
Linda would go on to win her first Oscar four years later and another two years after that. She remained famously unmarried throughout the ensuing decades but kept a longtime companion in Olivia. Jane’s career was more one-and-done as she returned to Nebraska not longer after the release of Forbidden Fruit. She got married not long after and later reconciled with Vincent. Peter fully transitioned into directing once he fell out of fashion as a leading man, but never held a stable marriage throughout his life.
“From the day I was born, the competition had already begun. I was the first to get married, the first to have a child, the first to win an Academy Award. Hell, if I die first, she’ll probably find a way to gripe about that, too” Jane (Pamela Anderson) remarks to the documentarian in 2003.
He asks her if she loves her sister.
“Everybody loves Linda Rose.”
Jane Donovan died in 2011. When asked for public comment, Linda declined.
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