Deconstructing Phyllis

>> Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture is a digestible and dimensional look at the
Montreal urban activist

by MATTHEW HAYS

The A&E show Biography has spawned its own brand of documentary: brisk, to-the-point mini-bios that last about 50 minutes (leaving the remainder for commercial breaks). They certainly serve a purpose: cramming the basics of a famous person’s life into a digestible bite for the TV audience.

Local architecture champion Phyllis Bronfman Lambert—who turned 80 earlier this year—has now been stamped with her own biography doc, the Canada-France co-production Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture. Directed and written by Teri Wehn-Damisch, this doc effectively compresses her colourful life into a 52-minute package. Lambert, of course, is one of the heirs to the Seagram fortune, established by her immigrant father Samuel Bronfman. As the doc indicates, the young Phyllis was always an outsider and an upstart, yearning to be an artist while clashing with her multimillionaire dad. Wehn-Damisch creates some faux “News on the March” broadcasts about Lambert’s past, reminding us that what we’re watching is a construction by having Lambert sit in a darkened cinema to gaze at them with us.

Lambert was obviously born into great wealth and privilege, but intriguingly enough, wasn’t so interested in many of the trappings that went along with it. There are some priceless shots of the heiress as a young woman, adorned in Chanel and Dior designer outfits. She would ultimately reject these for what would become her trademark garb: sleek black pantsuits.

A turning point comes in Citizen Lambert when she sees the design for the Seagram Building, to be built in Manhattan in the ’50s. Horrified, she writes her father a letter of protest, suggesting bitterly that a man who would build such a skyscraper is no father of hers. She ultimately wins the battle, commissioning famous architect Mies van der Rohe to design what would become the Seagram Building, a structure many consider one of the iconic post-WWII standout buildings in Manhattan.

It’s but one of many intriguing moments that Wehn-Damisch has managed to pull together in this doc. Thankfully, Lambert’s crusty character is not glossed over either, allowing for a dimensional look into this fascinating life.

Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture
screens at Ex-Centris from June 15-21

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