Arnold
NETFLIXA documentary crafted and ultimately produced with the titular subject on board as a creative force should always be cause for concern. Ideally, a crew getting sign-off on the subject and being allowed to be left alone to demonstrate a narrative on the subject would in the best of worlds, suffice akin to Amy and Senna. Alas, anyone wanting to sign off on a team with no creative control and having multiple skeletons on the verge of falling out of the closet would scare the best of people, with Amy once again a great example of an estate backtracking on access. Arnold — a documentary on the subject and person Arnold Schwarzenegger — from NETFLIX falls a little in the middle of having cake and being able to eat it.
Beginning with the uniquenesses, Arnold is a documentary on one, if not the biggest, action star of the cinematic medium but also on an icon on three differing albeit connected fronts: an athlete, an actor, and a politician with the trials and tribulations that accompany all three walks of the subjects life. These are interestingly and quite smartly devised as three-hour-long acts and segments, as they have been in Schwarzenegger's life. What works here is the flow and, ultimately, the delivery of information. The acts themselves don’t trip over each other and are devised to inform with ease and clarity, not only for the audience's sake but are crafted for Schwarzenegger himself to solely focus on delivering information on that time period, which in turn gives weight and poignancy to the material being processed.
Each act within this structure educates and informs on vastly different subjects for a wide range of viewers and the core audiences. What makes the material at hand all the more compelling is that each story is never short or underwhelming compared to the other two. They all find grounded weight on a personal level or more so a human level of obstacles that are often found in the way of success. It is this reiterated term and theme that is found throughout and only emphasises the story of which quite profoundly Schwarzenegger embodies of that being an immigrant.
This could not be made all the more powerful, as Schwarzenegger discusses his first foray into acting, in which the industry he so adored used his demanding posture and image but withheld his natural Austrian accent. Alas, these are momentary themes that are presented, lightly discussed with the sheer amount of time frame and narrative to get through, it almost is allowed a free pass to be slightly ignored. It is, nevertheless, a shame that this very theme is presented through Arnold, as not only the poignant sequences are moved on with the likes of his accent taken away but also those whom the subject has lost throughout these years who built the Oak to be the man viewers see today.
The documentary does provide insight into darker times; most notably, the subject's notorious affair and the impact said incident has had upon himself and his family. It makes for heartfelt content and made more honest with Schwarzenegger not just playing the villain but hand on heart confirming in those moments and aftermath he was nothing short of such. This sentiment is equally approached in the subjects' manner of behaviour revealed and slowly suppressed during the actors' political run in 2003. Accountably is undoubtedly a major factor within this documentary’s body, but it’s a clear conscious righting of what is wrong. Perhaps for some — and rightly so — it will not be enough to justify terrible behaviour, and how the documentary projects this sequence the sentiment of not being forgiven, which is certainly known to Schwarzenegger himself.
And then, before long, the three hours are up and what is one person's life story is simplified and showcased in three hours of footage. Ultimately, what is not so clear from the start but evident in the second and third quarters, is that this isn’t Schwarzenegger wanting plaudits or remorse for his actions, but he’s a man who has accepted himself who has played both the hero and villain — testaments that ultimately defies the nature of his strong-willed European creation and defiant republican nature, as well as by definition: the man himself. All this is leading up to one thing, and one thing only, and that is the reason why this documentary has been made: to act as an obituary for an icon. It is a guide to follow for those who wander lost or who have talent or determination but find alienation in size, stature, voice, and sexuality. For those who can see a man abuse power and right those wrongs, to see a man regret not seeing his children age around him, to understand that words and actions can be changed and can change. This motif is ever so clear in the closing thoughts of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger himself take up the mantle of trying to educate his audience on subjects such as racism, climate change, and more that the politicians that he himself once engaged with, fail to direct those who see hatred and ignorance as a means of normal societal life. It’s also fair to suggest that Arnold leaves itself to attacks of being self-promotional and self-indulgent, which would be hard to bat away. To its credit, Arnold feels far more balanced than other vanity projects, alas not one from the horse's own mouth. Yet even with three hours of this man essentially detailing his life story, audiences and the viewer will probably never truly know what makes this man tick but will sure enough understand what such an esteemed icon has been through.
