It’s shocking, now, to look back and realize that actress Marlee Matlin was just 21 when she won an Academy Award in 1986. She was, as she recalls in “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,” practically a child. As we learn in this deeply affectionate biographical history, the actress, who is deaf, has already been through a lifetime of challenges. And yet, there were plenty more to come.
As a PBS American Masters portrait designed to celebrate Matlin’s accomplishments, “Not Alone Anymore” can’t really be called a traditional documentary. Matlin chose first-time director Shoshannah Stern herself (they worked together on the Sundance Now series “This Close”), and the connection between them is evident.