Melania, Amazon MGM Studios‘ documentary about Melania Trump, is billed as a behind-the-scenes look at the once-and-future first lady in the 20 days leading up to the inauguration last year.
While much has been written about what Melania is, in watching the movie a viewer will very quickly realize what it isn’t: Any kind of surprisingly revelatory account of what it has been like for her to be the spouse of one of the most divisive political figures in American history.
Given that the first lady is a producer on the project, that is hardly surprising. Melania is instead an exercise in carefully crafted image-making and branding, something that is hardly unique to a first lady or any of her predecessors, and actually is becoming more of a thing in the documentary world as more public figures seek control of how to tell their stories.
Melania avoids getting into the fray of any controversy that happens during the weeks leading up to the inauguration and the day itself, much less what has happened in the year since.
In one of the candid moments, as Donald Trump practices his inaugural address with a group of aides, Melania Trump suggests a change to the speech, that he add the word “unifier.”
“Don’t put that on tape, please,” Donald Trump tells the documentary crew.
“Please do,” Melania Trump responds.
Trump gives in, and says, “The wife gave me a good idea.” In the speech, he did end up saying, “My proudest legacy will be that of peacemaker of unifier.”
Yet in the scenes of the Trumps attending the swearing in, the congressional luncheon and the tony balls, no mention is made of the president’s signing of a blizzard of executive orders that day, including his polarizing move to pardon those involved in the January 6, 2021 riot and siege of the Capitol.
The documentary, which opened at the box office Friday, had no advance press screening, and most reporters were not allowed into the gala Kennedy Center premiere showing Thursday. Instead, reviewers and others screened the movie at their local multiplexes.
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We did, too, so here are six takeaways from Melania:
Who is Melania Trump?
It’s still a bit of a mystery. The documentary starts at Mar-a-Lago, and the first shot of Melania Trump starts with her stiletto heels. She then makes the trek to New York, where, in the gilded condo at Trump Tower, she works with designers to select inaugural outfits. Then she works with an interior designer on plans for the White House residence. And then she gets a glimpse at a graphic designer’s carefully crafted inaugural invites. The message: Melania Trump is a model and designer, central to her expertise and image.
These shades of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, though, eventually give way to more personal moments, as when she attends the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and mourns the one-year anniversary of the loss of her mother with a trip to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
That said, while Trump expresses reverence for her mother and her father, who is still living, and expresses pride in her son Barron, her own backstory remains rather brief, with just mentions of her journey from Slovenia, into a modeling career, and to the United States. Nothing much is said of that migration, or how she met Donald Trump. And as much as Melania Trump has sought to forge her own path as a first lady and fashion icon, we don’t learn much about the reasons behind some of her choices. She talks about her central initiatives, including “Be Best,” children and foster care, but there are few revelations of her motivations for selecting those topics. And while we see her trying on and crafting the wide-brimmed hat she wore at the inauguration, we never really find out why she wore what was one of the more striking outfits worn by a first lady on that day.
There is a lot of walking
There is a lot of walking in Melania, through carefully guarded corridors, onto stages, into parties and celebrations, getting into motorcades. Director Brett Ratner got behind-the-scenes access to the first lady and to Trump, and it shows up on the screen. There’s even a shot of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, each frowning, as they wait to enter the Capitol Rotunda together where Trump will be sworn into office.
There are worries about security
At a number of points, Trump expresses concern, understandably, about safety, including a moment when officials are outlining plans for the inaugural route.
As talk turns to whether the Trumps will get out of the motorcade and walk part of the way, Melania Trump says, “If we got out, I think people will know where we already would go out. So it is kind of like, how could that be safe, especially with the last year, what’s going on and stuff. I have concerns, honestly, and I know Barron will not go out of the car. That’s his decision. I respect that.”
She doesn’t go into the assassination attempts on her husband’s life, but says in voice-over at another point, “Nobody has endured what he has over the past few years. People try to murder him, incarcerate him, slander him, and here he is. I’m so very proud.”
There are candid moments
As private as Melania Trump is, there are some moments where the guard comes down ever so slightly.
One segment features Melania meeting with Aviva Siegel, an Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas, and she breaks down in tears as she seeks help securing the release of her husband, Keith. Trump hugs her and says words of comfort, and says of her husband, “I know that is his priority. I am sure of it.” Siegel was released on February 1, 2025, just weeks later, as part of a ceasefire deal worked out by the Biden and Trump administrations.
In another moment, the first lady, riding in a motorcade, is asked by Ratner about her favorite music. She tells him Michael Jackson and “Billie Jean.” With the song playing, she begins to mouth the words. “Carpool Karaoke with Melania,” Ratner tells her, as she laughs.
One of the main highlights is in the private residence of the White House, as the Trumps return from a night of inaugural balls. It is 2 a.m., and they’ve ordered up dinner from the private kitchen.
“That was some evening, wasn’t it?” the president says. “It was an amazing evening and an amazing day, the inaugurations.”
“And you had your first lady with you right by your side,” Ratner says.
“Nobody like her. She’s very difficult. Nobody like her … She’s great,” the president says.
Then, he tells his wife and Ratner, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Good night,” the first lady says. “Sweet dreams, Mr. President,” Ratner says.
The moment may not be particularly revelatory and it still is a bit guarded, but it was candid, and at a key moment captured an area of the White House typically off limits to the press.
The first lady celebrates immigration
In the voice-over of footage during inauguration day, Melania Trump says, “Walking into the Capitol Rotunda, I felt the weight of history intertwined with my own journey as an immigrant, a reminder of why I respect this nation so deeply. Everyone should do what they can to protect our individual rights. Never take them for granted, because in the end. no matter where we come from, we are bound by the same humanity.”
Who could disagree with that?
Yet it’s just one of several moments of irony in the documentary, given that has happened in the first year of the Trump administration. There’s been the ICE and Border Patrol crackdown on illegal immigration, but the Trump administration also has tightened legal immigration as well, with new restrictions and limitations. Other than referencing the success of immigration, the first lady doesn’t address what was a central issue to her husband’s campaign, and one that is at the center of current unrest in Minneapolis.
The unexpected — or unintentional
Elon Musk is seen in several shots, including at a pre-inaugural candlelight dinner where it appears like a woman is seated on his lap. His appearances are a reminder of how central he once was to the administration and, given the pace of the news cycle, how even a moment that happened just a year ago feels like eons.
There’s also a brief shot of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, which ended up bankrolling the documentary and its marketing and distribution push, reportedly for $70 million.
There’s even a moment when an aide to Melania Trump ponders how to respond to an inquiry from Matt Belloni of Puck, about the documentary itself, a prelude to all the attention paid to Amazon’s outlay for the project.
Then there’s a moment when the Trumps arrive at the White House on inauguration day, as they are greeted by President Joe Biden and Jill Biden. It’s a moment that celebrates the transition of power, but one that Donald Trump refused his successor four years earlier. There is no mention of that in Melania, but in the clip, as the couples turn to enter the White House for a morning tea, a reporter can be heard shouting, “Will America survive the next president?”