Respond to these rapid questions in our Seberg quiz and we will tell you which Seberg character you are. Play it now.
Jean Seberg, like many other aspiring actresses before her, traveled to Hollywood with hopes of becoming a star. However, once the Marshalltown, Iowa native arrived in Los Angeles, she discovered that her dreams of becoming a movie star were a pipe dream. An accident on the set of her first film left her with a permanent scar. At first, she was unable to achieve success. Finally, she made her way to Paris, where she starred in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” which would go on to become one of the most important films of the French New Wave. In the end, Seberg had made a name for herself, but she would be found dead in her car less than two decades after her international hit from 1960, with suicide being the most likely cause of her death.
Since her tragically brief life ended, Seberg’s tragically brief story has piqued the interest of many, particularly after her second husband accused the FBI of having a hand in her demise. “Seberg,” a new biopic starring Benedict Andrews, is most interested in the FBI connection that he makes. Regardless of how well-intentioned the effort to unearth Seberg’s legacy and open this shameful chapter in American history has been, the film’s simplistic approach does not do her memory enough justice. With a miscast lead actress and a script that is underwritten, Seberg remains as mysterious and distant as it has always been.
Despite the fact that Kristen Stewart successfully pulls off Seberg’s short haircut, she fails to capture any of the presence or persona of the French New Wave “It” girl in the film. Because of Stewart’s monotone delivery, her character comes across as uninterested and bored, despite the fact that the film is attempting to show how the actress developed into an activist—posing for photographs with members of the Black Panther Party and funding their educational initiatives—that would put her in the crosshairs of the FBI. Perhaps Andrews did not provide her with clearer instructions, or perhaps the clunky dialogue written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse did not provide her with more to work with. In any case, the film has the impression of being in search of its own pulse.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Seberg quiz.
A similar way to how her contemporaries were treated, Seberg is treated unfairly by the script. Despite the fact that this was a young woman who was already donating to civil rights causes as a teenager, the script includes a scene in which the actress complains to her industry-minded manager about how she wishes she could do something more meaningful with her life than just act in Hollywood films. She wasn’t someone who was looking for a reason to live, but that’s how the script portrays her as being. Additionally, the script included a conflicted FBI agent named Jack (Jack O’Connell), who appears to have been inserted into the story solely for the purpose of providing someone with some sort of story arc. He’s been transformed into a sympathetic character who expresses regret for following orders from his superiors (including J. Edgar Hoover) to wiretap, follow, and spread false stories about Seberg to the media. Attempting to clear the FBI of legal harassment that drove a citizen to the brink of paranoia is a strange decision made by the filmmakers of Seberg’s story, and it raises some questions.
Seberg Quiz
However, not everything about “Seberg” is in such poor condition. Rachel Morrison’s cinematography is by far one of the film’s most impressive aspects, as it exhibits a wide range of styles and demonstrates her ability to tell a story through the use of visual elements. When “Seberg” opens, the film has a more pastel sheen to it, which is a reflection of the time period as well as the unclouded nature of her narrative. The FBI becomes more involved as the story progresses, and more scenes take place at night, making the environment around Seberg appear darker and more ominous. In particular, Anthony Mackie’s performance as Hakim Jamal, a charismatic and charming activist with whom Seberg begins an affair, and Vince Vaughan’s performance as a cruel, uncaring FBI agent who sees nothing wrong with his organization’s orders to stalk and mess with Seberg stand out from the rest of the supporting cast. The wives played by Margaret Qualley and Zazie Beetz are also interesting, I wish I could say, but their primary function in the script is to be envious of their husbands’ focus on Seberg. I wish I could say the same for Margaret Qualley and Zazie Beetz.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Seberg quiz.
The film attempts to portray Seberg as an inspirational figure, a sainted martyr who attempted to speak out against her country’s many injustices and was subjected to severe retaliation as a result of her actions. In addition, there is no ambiguity in this comparison, as it includes a recreated scene of Seberg playing Joan of Arc in her first film, in which she was burned on the set due to a set accident. If our sympathies are supposed to be with Seberg, why do we divert a portion of them to a “My Week with Marilyn”-type outsider who is ogling at her? Why is it necessary to tell the FBI’s side of the story at all? It is part of a new subgenre of biopics that includes films such as “My Week with Marilyn” and the more recent “Judy,” which portray these fascinating actresses as victims of their own stories, doomed to meet some sort of fame-induced end as a result of their own stories. While this framing may be effective for some, it is tiresome due to its predictability and predictability. While I’m glad that more people are now aware of what happened to Seberg as a result of Stewart’s involvement and the release of this film, I believe there is a more compelling version of this story that has yet to be told.
For more personality quizzes check this: Inside Out Quiz.
