Jane Fonda in Five Acts

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Jane Fonda in Five Acts

2018,

2h 13m,

Documentary/

Biography

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Watchlist

97%

31 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

50+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

A look at the life, work, activism and controversies of actress and fitness tycoon Jane Fonda.

Critics Consensus

Raw and rich in decade-spanning detail, Jane Fonda in Five Acts paints a living portrait of one popular culture's most compelling figures.

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David Fear

Rolling Stone

Dec 20, 2018

She's a legend, sure. But now she's not Henry's daughter, or Roger/Tom/Ted's wife, or Bree Daniels. She's just Jane, the doc suggests, plain old Jane. It only took decades to get there.

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Gwen Ihnat

AV Club

Dec 14, 2018

A

Fonda is so solid throughout the documentary that an enthusiastic reference to a prophetic psychic reading sticks out as a flighty departure.

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Julia Raeside

Guardian

Nov 6, 2018

2/5

Modern documentaries have led us to expect more rigour in their storytelling but this, despite its willingness to touch on family discord and so on, keeps a respectful distance that ultimately frustrates.

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Marya E. Gates

Moviefone

Feb 13, 2024

A stunning profile of a complex person, ‘Jane Fonda In Five Acts’ excels at capturing all the intricacies that make us who we are and inspires us to keep working on our own unfinished self-portraits.

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Cate Marquis

AWFJ.org

Oct 12, 2021

For Jane Fonda fans, this documentary is an in-depth look inside her life, although like any autobiography, it lacks outside perspective. It is the life of Jane Fonda as Jane Fonda would tell it.

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Betsy Bozdech

AWFJ.org

Oct 12, 2021

Lacy's camera captures one of America's most well-known women at both her proudest and her most vulnerable, and the end result is sympathetic and satisfying.

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Hermione W

Nov 29, 2018

An interesting look at a very polarizing figure. Regardless of your love/hate relationship with her, you'll appreciate the honesty at this review of her life. Good to hear from her that she regrets the (most egregious of the incidents during the) Vietnam visit. Still wonder why she seems to need the camera on her so much - never visited her mothers grave till this documentary??!! Perhaps not all of the demons have been exorcised

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George S

Nov 1, 2018

Wonderful honest account of fonda's life. A BEHIND THE SCENE PEAK AT THE WORKINGS OF HER MIND AT DIFFERENT POINTS OF HER LIFE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. there are some interesting surprises from a women you thought you knew everything about, captivating night of fonda

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Ron R

Oct 25, 2018

BlacKkKlansman 10-24-2018 (10/10) 8.2/10. 10-25-2018

Theodore G

Oct 11, 2018

For me, the surprise that emerges from this very engrossing biopic is how much influence Jane Fonda has had over the production of her later work. And how little credit she gets for it. We're just getting used to seeing women in leadership roles other than the traditional, so it's refreshing to find out that she wasn't just starring in Coming Home, China Syndrome, and Golden Pond, among others. They probably wouldn't have been made without Jane Fonda's direct influence. Oh, and the proceeds from the warmup tape and book belong to the organization she and husband Tom Hayden created for their causes. This is an interesting look into the life of a famous person we thought we knew. We didn't see the struggle behind the person, for Fonda to step out of the famous-person role she found herself in, and end up defining herself. And attempting to help other people do the same.

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Han L

Oct 1, 2018

Stunning documentary on one of the most important important American woman of the past 50 years.

Kylo W

Sep 25, 2018

A choppy documentary about Jane Fonda and her life. Her misguided hypocritical activism, how it ruined her career and ultimately how she had to make workout tapes and sleep with a billionaire to stay relevant.

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Susan Lacy

Director

Jane Fonda

Self

Tom Hayden

Self

Robert Redford

Self

Lily Tomlin

Self

Paula Weinstein

Self

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Synopsis

A look at the life, work, activism and controversies of actress and fitness tycoon Jane Fonda.

Director: Susan Lacy
Producer: Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin, Emma Pildes
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 27, 2018
Runtime: 2h 13m

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