Jane (2017)

Film: Jane (2017)
Stars: Jane Goodall
Director: Brett Morgan
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 5/5 stars

I don't frequently get up in the middle of a movie to check something that is happening in a picture on my phone, and I don't think, before Jane, have I ever done so in a documentary.  Yet about fifteen minutes into the picture, I snuck into the back of the theater, rounded the corner so as not to disturb anyone (only evil people check their phones in a darkened theater), and looked up how Jane the documentary's footage was possible. Truly, how was it possible that such brilliant, warm shots of a young Jane Goodall in the 1960's, early on in her research of the chimpanzees at Gombe, existed without the intention of eventually making this film?  Was it some sort of Richard Linklater/Boyhood-style project that I'd never heard of before?  Or was it an actress, a lookalike as the young scientist?  As I found out (quickly, so as I could return to this marvelous picture), it was all random shots that were used with the precision of an expert screenwriter from Hugo van Lawick's (Goodall's first husband, and a renowned nature photographer) personal collection.  What Oscar nominee Brett Morgan crafts here is spectacular.

For those used to the natural wonders of David Attenborough, you won't be getting grand vistas and "how the hell did they capture that?" shots here, other than marveling at how beautifully the lost footage fits the narrative.  There are no crystal-clear cameras to film through in the 1960's, but we still get a natural beauty as we watch Goodall begin her research amidst a golden-hued canopy.  The story, though, is the fascinating part.  Though told through a talking head structure, the film largely focuses on interviews with Goodall herself, a riveting interviewee who shares personal anecdotes and professional frustrations as well as her deeply personal relationship with chimpanzees.  It's easy to forget that before Goodall's research of the chimpanzees of Gombe, we knew virtually nothing about the species, and what a profound impact Goodall's research has had on all future study of animal behavior.  Goodall was the first researcher to realize, amongst other things that chimpanzees used tools (before this, it was assumed only humans were capable of using tools), and that they are omnivorous and can be quite aggressive.

Watching the film unfold, it's impossible not to deeply admire Goodall's introverted determination.  The coverage of her as a young woman, getting interviewed more for her looks and marital status than for her groundbreaking research, is inevitable but unfortunate nonetheless.  The film never comes across as a feminist film, but it's there in its fabric-watching one of the most accomplished and beloved scientists in the natural world, who just happens to be a woman, it's impossible not to imagine the generation of young female scientists who looked up to this woman, whose love of animals pushed her to make it her life's mission, and realize her impact.

The movie is accompanied by a near operatic Philip Glass score, gorgeous in that "grandly extra" way that only Glass can achieve.  Unlike some of his forays into narrative film, it works really well here, as we are given stretches where all we see are the videos of Goodall and her subjects, with the visual world instructing us in all we need to know about chimpanzee behavior.  The confidence that comes from Morgen, so (rightfully) assured that we will be fascinated by his subject, he indulges in cinematic flourishes that would come across as sloppy in a less impressive documentary.  Here, though, we just want the footage and Goodall's mission, her discoveries and learnings, to continue indefinitely.  At once a well-structured movie and an impassioned tribute to conservation's greatest champion, Jane is the best documentary I can recall seeing in recent memory.