a film that taught me what the "motion" in motion picture really means!

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2000)

I find it hard to describe how much this movie means to me. It moves me in so many different ways. I know I can be amazed easily, but this particular movie stands out from the crowd.
McGregor's performance as the screwed up American rock star Curt Wild is tantalizing and Rhys-Meyers as glam icon Brian Slade leads both males and females to temptation with his androgynous beauty and amazing talent. What I love about this movie is the feeling of being a part of the glamrock scene, even if you are too young to actually remember. When watching this movie, you just think you had seen it all live on stage.
Granted, the characters are all fictional and fairy tale-like (although the similarities to certain real-life celebrities of that era are quite obvious), but still they appear so real that you think you've known them for ages, even if they hardly tell anything about themselves.
That's another fascination of the movie: you will not understand it upon first viewing. You must see it again and again to catch every detail and every twist in the timeline. And what bliss it is to find out where a scene is placed in the timeline or to think you have found the answers to one of the many burning questions you are most likely to have. I would love to sit down and have a talk with Todd Haynes and ask him a whole lot of questions about Velvet Goldmine. ^_^
Another beautiful aspect is the openness with which it treats the subject of homo-/bisexuality. It's never really made an issue, it's just there and nobody cares. That's quite a refreshing difference for the gay audience every once in a while!
So, if you like amazing images, colorful and glittering pictures, great music, heart-wrenching love, bombastic stage shows, deep wisdom and witty humor, then this is the movie for you. And if you like Oscar Wilde, then go see it double quick and you'll know why it's a must see for you! ^_~