Christian Bale steals the show

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2005)

I missed all accurate hype for this film when it was released here for a brief cinema season and therefore missed the chance of seeing it on the big screen in all its glory.
Luckily the widescreen region 1 DVD is superb and the Dolby 5.1 audio is used to perfection. I love the whole look of this film - and especially the nuances in facial expressions and body movements.
Todd Haynes is 100% honest and accurate in the development of the character Arthur Stuart. We see that Arthur has taken great strength from the lyrics of his pop idols and has the guts to be proud to be gay in a world deeply mired in middle-class conservatism. I was the same age as Arthur in this era - I wore the same style of clothes and avidly listened to the same music (Bowie in my reality). Being gay I went through the same angst about how the world was going to cope with me.
So there's a great deal that I personally connect with - plus the bonus of a superb soundtrack and an intriguing, totally satisfying storyline. I've watched Velvet Goldmine several times and it just keeps getting better - as does my impression of Christian Bale as one truly great actor. He makes this film live.
Todd Haynes should also take a bow - of course he further proved his class with the equally impressive "Far From Heaven".