Pamela, A Love Story

Pamela Anderson reads her own diaries. The documentary runs from her childhood in Canada to the Playboy cover, the Baywatch years and her marriage to Tommy Lee. At its centre is the private tape stolen from their home in 1995 and distributed without consent: it was sold all over the world, Anderson received nothing, and for years the story of it was built against her. The film is not interested in a celebrity portrait. It is interested in who holds the narrative: Anderson says other people wrote her story for years, and the film hands her the text back. That the series Pam and Tommy was made without her consent is a continuation of the same thing, and the documentary says so. The form is home archive: tapes she shot herself, her notebooks, family video and conversations today. There is little constructed interview; most of the voice comes from the diaries being read. Ryan White directed. It was released on Netflix, timed with her memoir. Her sons Brandon and Dylan appear. Who it is for: viewers interested in media criticism and celebrities reclaiming their own account. Who it is not for: anyone expecting critical distance. The film stands entirely with Anderson and gives opposing views no room, which is a choice, and the reason for it is the film's subject.