Relive the glitter

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2004)

I loved this movie and was entranced. I remembered the original glitter rock years and the wonderful music that came from the glam rock era. I used to get a hold of magazines like SPEC and 16 and pour over the pictures of David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Iggy Pop, the New York Dolls, Elton John, Queen and the other beautiful creatures of the time. As a child, I knew I was different and that these rockers held the key to another world. Ambiguous sexuality and homosexuality were described in fey ways. The alien fantastical creature was a sly reference to the underground world of male homosexuality. I knew I belonged to their world.
This movie is a cryptobiography of David Bowie and a supposed love affair he had with Iggy Pop. Todd Haynes lovingly captures every aspect of the Glam Rock period with a baroque story of decadence and beauty. No details are too small from Iggy's famous pants dropping to the double cherries that symbolized glam rock. Haynes creates a beautiful and faithful tale that features some of the best music of the time. Placebo's performance of T-Rex's "20th Century Boy" really stands out.