Forgiveably Inaccurate Glamrock Fantasy

Rating: Null/10 (1 September 2004)

There's a reason this film uses fictional names for the characters, most of whom are easily identifiable if you know any of the back story of the glam scene in the seventies. They aren't representative of the people themselves, so much as the vision of who they were at the time.
Velvet Goldmine was definitely (and beautifully!) bowdlerized, but that is because it was as much a story about the visions of nostalgia as it was about the events themselves. The movie is also riddled with elements of homo erotic empowering themes, and a vaguely satisfying blend of mysticism and artistic genius. It suggests a sort of chain of apprenticeship between artists and dreamers, represented by extremely fanciful and sometimes stunning imagery.
The movie tends to attract gay dreamers, pagans and goths more than any other demographic, but that's just fine. Not every movie is supposed to be accurate, or mainstream.