The new documentary “Melania” opens on a close-up of the trademark stilettos of first lady Melania Trump as she walks the halls of Mar-a-Lago, her Palm Beach home, in early January 2025, following her as she climbs into a dark SUV for the short drive to the airport and a flight aboard her husband’s personal plane to New York and their Trump Tower penthouse home.
The movie, which stretches nearly two hours, is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the first lady’s life during the 20 days before she resumed the role last year. The first lady, who is known to fiercely protect her privacy, had film crews follow her in Palm Beach, Florida; New York City and Washington, during that window to show her transition from a private citizen to public figure to an audience that mostly regards her as kind of a mystery.
“With this film, I want to show the American people my journey,” she says in the documentary, which opened Friday in theaters in the U.S. and around the world.
Here are some takeaways:
The first lady focuses on getting details just right
Viewers follow Melania Trump through a variety of meetings — and fittings — where the former fashion model appears keenly focused on the precise fit of her inaugural coat and hat and the gown she plans to wear to the balls. In one of the scenes where she’s wearing the coat, she asks for it to be tightened around her hips. In another, after she comes downstairs in the strapless gown, her request is for the black trim at the top to be fixed straight across and to not flop.
She reviews the minute arrangements for a pre-inaugural candlelight dinner in Washington for President Donald Trump’s donors, such as the invitations and the caviar served inside a golden egg. And she works on furnishing the family’s private living quarters on the second floor of the White House. She asks her interior designer for a bigger bed for their son, Barron, “because he’s much taller now” than in Trump’s first term.
She meets with powerful women
Melania Trump, who was involved in every aspect of the film’s development, includes scenes from meetings with some powerful women before Inauguration Day: a video call with Brigitte Macron, the French president’s wife, to discuss working together on children’s initiatives, and a sit-down with Queen Rania of Jordan.
She also meets with Aviva Siegel, who had been held hostage by Hamas militants after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and whose husband of 44 years was still in captivity at the time of the meeting. The film’s credits say Melania Trump played a key role in winning the release of Siegel’s husband.
Melania was concerned about safety on Inauguration Day
She and President Trump attend a meeting with Secret Service officials to review plans for the day. Told that there will be several points along the parade route where they could get out of the limousine to walk along Pennsylvania Avenue, she asks, “Is it safe?”
She doesn’t appear reassured by the answer, and says she knows Barron will not get out of the car. Trump had been the target of two assassination attempts during his campaign, including one at a rally in Pennsylvania in which his ear was grazed by a bullet and a supporter standing behind him was fatally shot.
Trump eventually moved the traditional outdoor inauguration ceremony indoors due to concerns about bitterly cold weather, and the parade was moved indoors to the Capital One Arena.
Melania Trump, who narrates the documentary, calls it a “practical decision” to move the parade. “But in truth, I was relieved,” she says.
Melania says she wants to modernize the role of first lady
She says in the film that she wants to move beyond the traditional “social duties” of first ladies. In some ways, she’s already done so, especially with the documentary.
Presidents and first ladies generally wait until they leave the White House to pursue such projects to avoid questions about possible conflicts of interest or ethics.
The film, announced before the Trumps returned to the White House, is the product of a reported $40 million deal with AmazonMGM Studios. Amazon does business with the federal government, and co-founder Jeff Bezos has sought to improve relations with the president.
Melania Trump also has not been tied to living in the White House. In Trump’s first term, she took the unusual step of living in New York for several months so that Barron, then in elementary school, could finish the school year. In the second term, she spent much of the first year in New York and Florida working on the film.
