The Nona

A fascinating insight into a woman's remarkable career as an actress.

This documentary explores the life and career of acclaimed American screen, television and stage actress Edith Fields, who has worked hard to follow her passion for acting for decades, resulting in an astonishing career and she is still acting now that she is in her nineties.

Over the course of fifty minutes, this informative and emotional documentary covers Fields' journey, from her upbringing in Poughkeepsie, New York, right to where she is today, which is a highly-demanded actress with tons of experience and her journey is quite inspiring.

Of course Fields is the star of this feature, a cheerful and down-to-earth elderly woman (and a busy one too, as she keeps on getting acting jobs), who is interviewed and talks about her life experiences and achievements, that include meeting her husband and raising a family, the play Death of a Salesman which started her interest in acting, an encounter with actress Mildred Dunnock and the numerous roles she got. As much as she concentrates on the positive events of her life, she also touches on tragic moments such as the passing of her husband and the challenging times of COVID-19 lockdown.

As well as showing Fields being interviewed, the film also includes her doing a variety of activities in her home and going to the gym. There are plenty of clips from TV shows that she has appeared in, including NYPD Blue, Seinfeld, Picket Fences and Six Feet Under, in which she is seen performing. There are many photographs of her throughout her life and newspaper articles about her many acting achievements. Filming was partially done via webcams and the filmmakers also utilise creative animation techniques.

This is a person's life story. A story about an individual who followed her passion and turned it into a long and rewarding career. It is a viewing that might help motivate aspiring actors and generally encourage people to go after their dreams. And the song Singin' in the Rain closes the documentary wonderfully.