Review of Velvet Goldmine (1998) by Kriselda J — 01 Jul 2008

I absolutely love this movie. It's an interesting story - though you have to pay attention at least the first time in order to follow along - it not only jumps from place-to-place, but also in time.

The basic conceit is that a reporter (Bale) is trying doing a "where are they now" story on rock star Bryan Slade (Rhys-Myers) who reached the top during the heady days of Glam, only to see his career was ruined when he faked his own death. We follow the reporter as he interviews people who knew Slade, and as each interviewee tells his or her story, the movie shows it to us as a flashback. Director Todd Haynes has said that much of the set-up is an homage to Citizen Kane, with some shots set up to reflect shots from Kane directly.

The acting is solid - Rhys-Myers, Bale and Ewan McGregor (playing Curt Wilde - allegedly based on Iggy Pop and/or Lou Reed, but especially near the end, seemingly channeled from Kurt Cobain) and the songs written for the movie fit right in with songs that were actually a product of the Glam era. McGregor's performance of the Stooges classic "Gimme Danger" is amazing - I've been known to rewatch that scene 5 or 6 times before finishing up the movie :).

This isn't a movie to watch, though, if you're uncomfortable with sexually frank movies. There's plenty here to go around - hetero, bi and homosexuality are all addressed, and McGregor provides a full-frontal nude shot during one of his character's concert performances. This is, however, reflective of the times being portrayed, and, well, dammit, the guys are pretty hot, you know? :D.

It's a bit of a strange little flick in some ways, but very nicely done and quite enjoyable. Check it out.