A student they hire to be a helper around the office, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) both invigorates and complicates the couple's relationship as the Marstons, both of them, take a romantic fondness for Olive and decide to be a polyamorous couple. This suits the tiro just fine, but of course, this is the 1930's we're talking about here, so once word gets out that the trio have this sort of romantic arrangement, the Marstons lose their jobs at the college. How are they gonna make money now? Well, the presence of BDSM in the trios sex life plus William's concept of women being the superior gender may just combine to create a comic book character that the trio could make a lot of money off of...
It's nice that Professor Marston And The Wonder Women lends some humanity to its lead characters and the societal persecution they face via simply adhering to the affection they feel for another. Angela Robinson's script seems keenly aware of how often just the mere sight of women kissing is used as simply as something for the male gaze to slobber over and seeks to rectify that by making sure that its depiction of the evolving sexuality of those involved in this romantic trio, especially Olive Byrne, is treated not as an opportunity for exploitation at the expense of depth but rather a chance to explore just what kind of person is nestled underneath a sexually conventional exterior.
Less success is found at keeping things moving at a solid clip in the first act, though I'd chalk that up more to the visual execution, namely the direction and the editing, than the script itself. Once the three lead characters do decide to pursue their own relationship though, things pick up almost immediately, with a fantastically executed sex scene set to Nina Simone's Feeling Good seemingly jolting the entire production with a fresh burst of life that manages to give the rest of the film a fine sense of narrative propulsion. It's also nice that the feature doesn't just run into the whole Wonder Woman side of the plot too quickly as it's obvious that the Marstons and their plight is the central focus of the proceedings.
Once the Wonder Woman angle enters the plot (and bringing Oliver Platt in a small but fun role), I found myself wishing Oliva and Elizabeth could play a larger role in the story since the titular Professor Marston becomes the central character since he's the one writing the Wonder Woman comics, though there are still plenty choice moments to be found in from both of those characters that make good use of resoundingly strong performances from Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote. Hall, in particular, is exceptionally entertaining as a no-BS individual who never sugarcoats what comes out of her mouth and is all the more engaging of a person for it.
It's a part that Hall plays with real skill and injects a realistic disposition into while Bella Heathcote has similar success in grounding her seemingly stereotypical character. Luke Evans isn't quite as memorable as Professor Marston (he's intentionally a more passive character compared to the two women in his life) but he still has a charming demeanor to him and plays off Hall and Heathcote quite well. Actually, all three of our lead actors have strong chemistry together and keep one's eyes glued to the screen even during the bumpiest parts of Professor Marston And The Wonder Women's narrative. Those foibles feel like they really should have been ironed out but at least the project itself ends up being a solid biopic that lays down humanistic groundwork for where exactly o'l Diana Prince came from.
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