Amy Lawrence Passion of Montgomery Clift University of California Press, 2010; 344 pages; $26.95 Amy Lawrence's Passion of Montgomery Clift is a monumental work that elegantly and captivatingly combines textual analysis in historical/cultural context, celebrity discourse analysis, and star biography. Quite remarkably, it succeeds at seamlessly integrating these elements while always keeping the concerns of each of them in the foreground. Organizing her study as an analysis of religious and spiritual discourse that has informed the construction of the star persona from the inception of popularity until long after death, Lawrence asserts at the outset that what distinguishes Clift from other stars who gained popularity in the 1950s is that his canonization preceded martyrdom (3). Additionally, she argues, the discourse of religion has been deployed not only in star reception, but also quite deliberately in the construction of the star persona by the film industry, and most significantly, by Clift himself. In fact, another distinctive aspect of this fascinating study is the emphasis that Lawrence places upon Clift's explicit awareness of star image as well as conscious and deliberate efforts to participate in regulating it-efforts that were challenged not only by sexuality and the anticipated consequences of its public revelation, but also by the car accident that would alter the contours of face along with star appeal. study is organized around stages and manifestations of sanctity and religious devotion, in conjunction with individual and groups of films discussed chronologically. The Face of a Saint articulates the pronounced effects of Clift's acting style and construction of masculinity upon audiences and fans early in career in conjunction with Search (1948) and Red River (1948). In conjunction with performance in From Here to Eternity (1953), Facing Persecution confronts growing suspicions and threats of scandal over the star's homosexuality, along with Clift's self-conscious awareness of the need to avoid or forestall scandal. Mortification of the Flesh centers upon the phenomenon of human suffering in versions of the star persona that emerged after the 1956 car accident, detailing Gift's efforts to intervene at a moment when the face that once signaled the profound qualities of the performance within cinematic narrative threatened now to become the unmistakable sign of the irrevocably compromised condition of the actor himself. Exploring contexts that remove Clift from the narrative constraints of heterosexual performance through roles as two very different doctors in Suddenly Last Summer (1959) and Freud (1962), A Gay Martyr discusses the actor's queerness in conjunction with positioning as a Sebastian-like figure through the narrative context of former films, and as bearing the brunt of blatantly homophobic director John Huston's ire on the set of the latter. Throughout the book, Lawrence maintains a balanced focus upon the object(s) of study, the critical discourses informing them, and her own very rich visual (and aural) experience of the star persona. She includes commentary that clarifies her own affective investment as a Clift fan and that defines her subject position in relation to the star; at the same time, even as she acknowledges that certain films or performances are not as resonant as others, she never privileges any of the star's works as more or less important to the study on the basis of her preferences. …