Art

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2003)

Velvet Goldmine amazed me. It's a perfect film. What is especially refreshing is the playful/artfulness with which Todd Haines accentuates or dramatizes moments in a surreal way: the space ship during Arthur's tryst with Curt, when Slade and Toni Collette meet, Arthur watching Slade on tv.
This movie is about youth and the passing of it. Who didn't want to be cool in high school or beyond? I did! It's like so real in that the characters wanted to change the world, but WHAT HAPPENS to them ten years later: Slade goes commercial, Curt stays true to himself, and Arthur finds himself: always a chronicler and admirer of the masters of glam rock.
This movie also has so many resonations with the Warhol scene and even the now defunct Club Makeup in LA. When I used to read Interview Mag (before it became too mainstream: this was when I was a KID) there was an ad with two girls with powdered faces and wigs who were sipping glitter out of champagne glasses. That image haunted me, but I guess I ended up living it out and can chronicle it with this film.
There seems to be a lot of talk about the sexuality of the film. Wake up! It was the 70's, baby. I didn't think it was particularly erotic, it was just like a backdrop for me: a fact of life. What was great was how Haines used Jonathan Rhys-Meyer. Finally a truly beautiful, androgynous lead that expresses the masterfulness and deadpan quality Slade had. So few filmmakers will use a hauntingly beautiful male that this just took it to the next level of artful settings with artful people. I can't help but think that Ewan MacGregor reminds me of Peppermint Patty. A totally mesmerizing experience for me (isn't this what art is?). This film is it.