[Tribeca 2024] SATISFIED -- A Touchingly Vulnerable Portrait of HAMILTON Actress Renée Elise Goldsberry

Review by Sean Boelman

Although the spotlight in discussions of Hamilton generally belongs to its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, several others are responsible for its success, including the acclaimed actress Renée Elise Goldsberry. Filmmakers Chris Bolan (A Secret Love) and Melissa Haizlip (Mr. SOUL!) team up to tell Goldsberry’s story in Satisfied, a showbiz documentary that, while safe in its presentation, connects more than most thanks to its emotional vulnerability.

Satisfied follows Goldsberry as she sets out to earn her stratospheric role as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton while balancing a tumultuous journey to motherhood. Although the story of Hamilton’s journey to the stage is well-documented, Satisfied goes into more depth into Goldsberry’s personal experience.

Regarding the Broadway side of Goldsberry’s story, the documentary plays out in a very traditional rags-to-riches type of way. It’s almost a little disingenuous to present the story this way. While Satisfied acknowledges her pre-Hamilton work like Rent and One Life to Live, it almost makes her seem like a nobody before her Tony Award-winning turn. It’s understandable why they did this — it’s easier to root for someone when you create stakes like this — but the stakes in Goldsberry’s personal life were convincing enough on their own.

Yet, while much of the documentary focuses on Goldsberry’s journey to starring in Hamilton, the much more compelling aspect of the story is her struggle to start and raise a family while balancing her blossoming Broadway career. Goldsberry shows an incredible amount of vulnerability and bravery in telling this portion of her story, discussing topics like fertility and being a woman in musical theatre with unexpected honesty and intimacy.

Yet, while much of the documentary focuses on Goldsberry’s journey to starring in Hamilton, the much more compelling aspect of the story is her struggle to start and raise a family while balancing her blossoming Broadway career. Goldsberry shows an incredible amount of vulnerability and bravery in telling this portion of her story, discussing topics like fertility and being a woman in musical theatre with unexpected honesty and intimacy.

With a runtime of less than 90 minutes, Satisfied does not overstay its welcome. It condenses quite a few years into a brief length of time, but it never feels rushed or truncated. Bolan and Haizlip are hyper-focused on the story they want to tell, and the result is a film that feels refreshingly free of fluff and pandering.

The highlight of Satisfied is the level of access the filmmakers had to Goldsberry and her family. Of course, the movie does feature some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with her co-stars in Hamilton, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, but the focus here is very much on Goldsberry. Bolan and Haizlip know how special of a talent Goldsberry is, and they allow her and her story to speak for themselves.

As far as visual presentation goes, Satisfied is pretty standard. Considering Hamilton’s popularity, the amount of rehearsal and performance footage the filmmakers could secure is surprising, even if it is mostly from the workshop and off-Broadway days. Otherwise, the film offers a pretty standard mix of fly-on-the-wall footage and archival materials.

That said, Satisfied is still a very special movie in many ways. Yes, its presentation is often by the book, and its positioning of Renée Elise Goldsberry’s career is a tad contrived to create artificial stakes, but the portions of the documentary where Goldsberry is allowed to get incredibly raw about her personal life pack such an emotional wallop that this ends up being a thoroughly moving film.

Satisfied is screening at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, which runs June 5-16 in New York City.

​Rating: 4.5/5