Review of Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) by Alexander C — 10 Dec 2008

''Why do you want to take a portrait of someone you've never seen, Diane?''Turning her back on her wealthy, established family, Diane Arbus (Kidman) falls in with Lionel Sweeney (Downey Jr.), an enigmatic mentor who introduces Arbus to the marginalized people who help her become one of the most revered photographers of the twentieth century.Nicole Kidman: Diane ArbusAn imaginative seductive story of a most interesting lady. Although based on the autobiography this movie was a joy to watch.Clever shots, interesting composite of music and a dazzling array of emotion and mystery all mixed up in between the lines.From an artistic point of view this has a full palette of colour and vibrant use of photography.The film is in the same category as the ''freaks'' film based on some of it's subject matter, I found these different characters to be fascinating in their various deformities or abnormalities. Makes me wonder how we as people categorize ourselves as humans.

Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus is wonderfully curious and genius-laden. Her Counterpart Robert Downey Jr as Lionel Sweeney her love interest and fur effected friend conveys mystery and wonder and charisma in his role.At its heart the whole tale and plot reminds me of Beauty and the Beast and its beautiful and reaches into your imagination. So sad and emotional in parts, it really makes me appreciate my life and all the time I have.

A tale of love cruelly ripped out by the confines of human frailty. That a life of wonder and imagination and following your heart leads to true happiness.As Diane Arbus, Nicole Kidman once again inhabits the role of a very strange personality and does it so well that she manages to take us along the odd journey on which she embarks. Her nice but mundane husband Allan (Ty Burrell) allows her to explore the presence of a new tenant Lionel, encouraging his frustrated wife to take up photography on her own rather than serving as his assistant for the fashion magazine images he grinds out. Lionel is covered with hair (hypertrichosis) and as a sideshow freak has many friends who have deformities. Arbus enters this world, loves the freedom of expression she has longed for, and in time falls in love with Lionel, leaving her family to enter completely the vision she has discovered (this is not a spoiler as the film opens with this information).Yes, Shainberg can be criticized for excess and for pushing the boundaries of credibility, but for this viewer that approach enhances the concept of visualizing the epiphany in an artist's life when the world changes to a form the artist can then capture and share. The sets, photography, and the acting fit the idea - even the far too prolonged love scene/body shaving sequence and aftermath that can only be described as bizarre. The film is obviously a work of love and one that honors the life of Diane Arbus, even though we are not given much true information about the woman. Veteran actors Jane Alexander and Harry Yulin add to the dignity of the project, as does a fascinatingly simple musical score by Carter Burwell.Worth a watch if you like imaginative movies that run through your emotions. Funny and inspiring yet emotional and turbulent.''Why don't you tell a secret?''.