Jane (2017)

JANE  (2017)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Brett Morgen
A neatly edited documentary on the life of Jane Goodall, narrated by Goodall herself. Much of it was compiled from footage shot by Hugo van Lawick (Goodall's future husband), who went to Tanzania to document her work with chimpanzees for National Geographic. Goodall quickly observed that van Lawick had an eye for her as much as the chimps, and among other things, the footage he shot provides graphic visual evidence that the photographer was falling in love with his subject. It's not hard to see how that would happen. As a young woman, Goodall was undeniably beautiful, and in her 80s, she still is. Goodall herself is only half the story, of course. The rest is her work with the chimps, and her crusade to conserve as much wildlife as possible while there's still time to do that. She freely admits using her looks to call attention to her cause. Patience, dedication and hard work might be indispensable assets, but a nice pair of legs doesn't hurt, either.