Much more finely crafted a film than I expected

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2003)

When I rented this DVD I expected nothing but a fun, and perhaps cheesy, frolic through London's 70's glam era. Not only did it deliver on the fun, but it turned out to be a wonderfully acted, directed, and edited piece of cinema. I knew after 10 minutes of watching it that I'd stumbled upon a gem of a film. The underlying Oscar Wilde theme (his spiritual connection with glam rock and the idea that he was an alien!) added dimension to the already engaging story, and it was cleverly woven in. Actors Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Ewan McGregor as Bowie/Slade and Pop/Wild were virtually unrecognizable, having been transformed into bonafide rock stars. Their love story is both shallow AND touching, a rare (and almost unexplainable) combination. The second storyline involving Christian Bale as a teen fan turned journalist was very moving, and captured perfectly how a repressed and troubled kid can identify so strongly with a pop idol he's never even met. This movie with it's non-linear narative, many characters, and wild visual elements could easily have been a mess had it not been for the incredible editing, which seamlessly connected one gorgeous scene to the next, and gave the whole work a coat of highly stylized polish. The entire era has been magnificently encapsulated within this film, and it is a visual and aural spectacle that exists solely for the beauty of the experience, not for any lofty hopes of longevity -- which is precisely what glam rock was all about.