Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

A bittersweet corrective, a tribute to a trailblazer long overdue her flowers.

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore really makes an impact when it reveals what the hearing world may never understand about the deaf world, in ways only a director with Stern's remarkable empathy could achieve

It’s a testament to both Matlin and the movie that we leave already anticipating the chapters still to come.


Despite the unkind assumptions so often ascribed to her and her work, Matlin isn’t eager to throw stones, and despite some tough revelations in Stern’s documentary, the tone remains mostly celebratory and light.

Sensitive, fluent editing keeps these excursions germane to Matlin’s story, making this more than just a tribute to one bright, interesting woman.

A captivating, heartfelt and illuminating warts-and-all documentary biopic.

But beyond the obvious profiling of its subject, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore is the rare example of a biographical documentary that’s as formally interesting and stylish as it is informative and blunt.

A compelling documentary, told in an even more compelling way about Matlin, by the far the most prominent deaf individual in the entertainment industry for the last 40 years.

A wonderfully disarming view of ASL in action, which drives home one of the film’s most dominant themes: being deaf is not a disability, just a different way of being.

An honest, well-rounded portrait of a woman who has constantly had to prove herself not just as an actor, but as an advocate for the Deaf community.