Flesh Impact Review: Marilyn, The Artist 

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Flesh Impact is a moving tribute to Marilyn Monroe that’s full of appreciation for her artistry and understanding of her circumstances.

For Monroe’s 100th birthday, director Maggie Gyllenhaal dedicates her short film, Flesh Impact, to the late star. The short serves as an attempt at understanding the woman behind the illustrious image and an effort to see beyond the headlines that incessantly followed her. On a much more personal note, it serves as an ode to a life as an actress and an acknowledgement of the sacrifices that must be made in the pursuit of fame of the highest degree. 

Flesh Impact opens on an older woman (Ellen Burstyn, of Place To Be) wandering into a black box theater in New York City. Much to the theater director’s (Peter Sarsgaard, of The Bride!) surprise, she claims she is here to audition for the leading role. When the director points out the lead role is set for a 25-year-old, the older woman smiles and says even though she’s a bit more mature, it’s nothing she can’t handle. 

Charmed and cruelly amused by the older woman, the director allows her to stay for the audition. As she prepares to launch into her planned monologue, stories of her past begin to pour from her as the older woman recalls a life that could only ever have been seen as glamorous if you were looking at it from a distance too far away to make out any of its details. 

As she talks about her colorful past, we see images of a younger version of her (Dakota Johnson, of Splitsville) grace the screen, unveiling a young Marilyn Monroe at the peak of her fame. She tells stories of her desolate childhood, her vibrant love life and her torrid relationship to fame. As the older woman recounts her life through this audition, her identity becomes clear, as do the trappings of being an actress in both the past and present day. 

While many portraits of Marilyn Monroe underline the tragedy of her life and her overwhelming struggles with depression, Flesh Impact celebrates her for the artist she deserves to be acknowledged as. It’s through Burstyn and Johnson’s portrayal of Marilyn that her craft is put at the forefront of her personhood and honored for its impact, which is nothing short of extraordinary. 

Burstyn’s mature Marilyn is full of understanding and equipped with a razor-sharp wit that lets people know she’s not only in on the jokes you’re making about her, but smart enough to use your misconceptions about her character to her own advantage. Johnson’s Marilyn is bursting with the effortless charm Monroe was known for but also grounds audiences with a surprisingly deep emotional weight. 

While the film meanders into its story with a crude and awkward attempt to tie Marilyn into the modern world, the short finds its stride once it allows Burstyn and Johnson to take over the narrative. Gyllenhaal’s film is both a clear love letter to those who dedicate their lives to the craft and an apology to those who waded the waters of the entertainment industry unprotected by the powers that be. 

At the crux of Flesh Impact lies a beautiful tribute to actresses past and present dealing with the freedom fame may grant you as well as the cage it may bind you in. Gyllenhaal’s short serves as a loving yet honest tribute to the career that she, Burstyn, Johnson and Monroe have all chosen in pursuit of the power that artistic expression could grant them. 

Flesh Impact had its World Premiere at the 2026 Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2026.