immerse yourself in a world

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2001)

A journalist in the 80s is asked to investigate hoax suicide of glam-rock pop giant Brian Slade (a fictional character clearly derived from David Bowie). As he reconstructs Slade's life and slowly pieces together the mystery, he is drawn back to memories of his painful adolescence. Admittedly, this sounds pretty average. Have faith. Firstly, there's an amazing cast. Christian Bale (American Psycho) plays the journalist with painful realism, Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes a captivating and charismatic Slade, Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Star Wars) plays crazy drug-f**ked American rock star Curt Wild, and Toni Colette (Muriel's Wedding, The Sixth Sense) gives an astonishing performance as Slade's wife, Mandy.

The story is weird, very non-linear, and often surreal. What film would open with a sparkling spaceship delivering Oscar Wilde as a baby on a doorstep to cartoonish Dublin? In fact, this is a bit of a field day for Oscar Wilde, who is presented as the symbol of sexual freedom and repeatedly quoted. This film is about the post-hippie ideology, the aspirations and shortcomings of the sexual revolution, the persona of the rockstar, freedom and choice, the music industry, the creation of fame, superficiality as ideology... There are layers upon layers of meaning. Every scene has been conceived and produced with flair, the music is woven into the fabric of the story. It is funny, touching, intriguing, and utterly, utterly entertaining. You are immersed not only in a film, but a world, and by the end of the movie you will see this world with new eyes.