Leonard Cohen’s muse, Marianne Ihlenīut back to the titular lovers: Cohen’s novel was bashed out on a typewriter in the blazing sun while Ihlen provided sandwiches and support. Suddenly, that seemingly halcyon life on Hydra doesn’t look quite so sunny. As a result, Alex Junior is now in a mental institution while two of his three ex-neighbours and playmates, the children of Australian writers George Johnston and Charmian Clift, died of alcohol abuse and suicide. Yet Broomfield is keen to whip the rose-tinted glasses from our eyes and while he portrays the romance of that hedonistic life, he also focuses on the emotional fallout: the partner-swapping, LSD-licking, booze-addled adults left their children to their own devices and did little to protect them. Despite the physical hardships of the island, the expat gang of scribes and artists along their entourage of partners and kids, as well as such glittering guests as Jackie Kennedy, enjoy the many pleasures afforded by their life on Hydra. Her husband Alex has decided that an open marriage is what he’s after, leaving Marianne alone to fend for herself and the infant Alex Junior.
Marianne is also on the island, having arrived with a husband and baby in tow. It’s 1960 and the young Leonard Cohen is trying to write his novel. Moving on to July 2019, Nick Broomfield’s documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love takes a loving look at that relationship. Broomfield takes us to the Greek island of Hydra, an idyllic haven for poets, artists and writers. When Cohen died just three months later, the singer’s email went viral and the erstwhile couple’s love story hit the headlines. In the brief and immensely tender missive, he managed to pack in musings on love and death and the importance of Marianne in his life. In July 2016, Leonard Cohen sent a message to his former girlfriend and muse, Marianne Ihlen, as she lay on her deathbed.
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