HBO doc puts spotlight on Natalie Wood’s life, not her death

The fate of “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind “hung on a Robert Wagner interview. Director Laurent Bouzereau knew that it would be a delicate conversation. If it didn’t work, there would be no documentary. So they filmed it first.

“If there was nothing interesting in it or something that just didn’t feel right, we were not going to proceed with the film,” Bouzereau said.

With his stepdaughter Natasha Gregson Wagner in the interviewer’s chair, Wagner sat for two days to tell the story of life with his wife — their highs and lows, their first marriage, their second marriage and how it came to an end with her tragic death in the waters off Southern California at 43.

“We didn’t want to do something that was just a love letter,” said Gregson Wagner, who also produced the film. “We really wanted to portray her and all of her humanity. Obviously we had to deal with that night and we had to deal with the controversy around it.”

And they did in a conversation that is humane, candid and emotional, which curious audiences can see for themselves when the film airs on HBO at 9 p.m. EDT. But while the lingering fascination around Wood’s death might draw you in, it’s everything else that’ll keep you glued to the television.

In “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind,” Bouzereau tells the story of Wood’s life through her personal belongings, photos, Super 8 and 16mm home videos (some of which the family hadn’t ever seen) and interviews with those who knew her best.

“We were not trying to do investigative reporting,” Bouzereau said. “We’re telling the story of a family, the story of an incredible career, the story of a wife, of a mother and ultimately also the story of a tragedy.”

Taylor Jewell / Associated Press Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of the late actress Natalie Wood, left, and director Laurent Bouzereau pose for a portrait to promote their documentary “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind.”