Yet, because of the longstanding friendship between director and the artist, the film is an unusually intimate portrayal of the independent, intensely private painter.
In 1931, according to Helen Gardner, Eliot had written him "an unusually intimate letter on suffering".
Either way, the effect of this unusually intimate performance piece, which combines dance, song and monologue, is at once amusing, unsettling and moving.
The anecdotes are personal and give an unusually intimate sense of the life style of a Broadway hoofer.
"Jane works in an unusually intimate way with people," he said.
The book provided an unusually intimate look at the workings of the upper echelons of the Chinese Government.
Talbot also provided an outlet for unusually intimate memoirs and stark confessionals.
Here is a prime opportunity to hear a great artist ply some fascinating corners of his trade in an unusually intimate setting.
William Minor repaid the pleasure of the visit in an unusually intimate way: He gave him a small amount of money.
The film presented an unusually intimate view of this famously private, intractable painter, whom Ms. Cajori first met when she was 9.