Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The unconventional life of Dr. William Marston, the Harvard psychologist and inventor who helped invent the modern lie detector test and co-created Wonder Woman in 1941.
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women tells an unusually rich true story — the polyamorous relationship between Dr. William Marston, his wife Elizabeth, and their partner Olive Byrne, and how that unconventional dynamic directly shaped the creation of Wonder Woman. The plot is genuinely compelling, weaving biography, romance, and cultural history into a cohesive and emotionally resonant narrative. The performances are a standout, particularly Rebecca Hall as Elizabeth Marston, who delivers a fiercely intelligent and layered portrayal. Luke Evans and Bella Heathcote are also strong. Novelty is high — there are very few films that tackle polyamory, BDSM themes, and feminist comic book history simultaneously with this much sincerity and craft. Cinematography is competent and warm but not particularly distinctive. The ending, while emotionally satisfying, is somewhat conventional in its elegiac wrap-up of the story, leaning on familiar biopic closure rather than doing something more daring.