Review of Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) by Valerie P — 20 Dec 2009

Fur is a wonderful introspective look into the world of Diane Airbus played by the always stunning Nicole Kidman. This is based on the real story of a 20th century photographer highly renown for her unique interpretation of the individuals in the world around us.

Set in New York city 1958 a lonely house wife assists her husband Allen Airbus a magazine photographer. Rebelling from her high class family and in need of some excitement she decides to take up an internal desire for abstract photography. She meets a man, Lionel Sweeney (Robert Downey Jr.) who soon takes her intrigue and ends up falling for him. He is a social outcast with a medical condition which leaves him with fully covered with hair and born to be the circus freak. This starts her on her journey in life to become who she has been known for today.

The directing done by Steven Shainberg was perfect in the sense it helped instill even enhance the mood at times. These vibrant yet simplistic shots were a perfect backdrop for the uniqueness of the story and individuals within it.

Although this may not be a perfect representation of the Biography of Diane it was respectable in my mind. In our closed off world some times it is nice to step into the minds of others and see everything from another view. We may all be different but we are all wonderful in our own way and I think it captures that nicely.