As celebrity icons have always had a major influence on society, the characters of “Velvet Goldmine” play a vital role in changing the world’s view of homosexuality and do so energetically with the help of openly gay director and co-writer Todd Haynes. Haynes is most well known for his productions of “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” and “Poison”.
Given his history, it is no surprise that Haynes created such a disorienting yet self-indulging film. Released in 1998, this British glam rock film takes place in England in the early 1970’s. It portrays Brian Slade, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, a bisexual rock star icon who falls in love with Curt Wild, played by Ewan McGregor a rebellious homosexual rock star. Reporter Arthur Stuart, played by Christian Bale, is assigned to revisit Slade’s death 10 years later to uncover the truth.
“Velvet Goldmine” similarly parallels the lives of David Bowie (Brian Slade) and Kurt Cobain (Curt Wild). There is also an evident tie to Oscar Wilde as well as many quotes cited from his work throughout the film. This film is set up in a storytelling, classic mystery structure that makes viewers work backwards to find answers. This type of structure as seen in many detective films such as “Citizen Kane”, effectively keeps the attention of numerous audiences. “Velvet Goldmine” ’s spirit and canning visual pictures are empowering, however the performance doesn’t tie together at the end causing frustration and confusion.
Music alone could carry this movie. The soulful yet lively soundtrack of this film sets a very eccentric and intensified pace with electric guitars and hard drums. The music adds so much depth to the plot and the overall mood of the film. It also tends to move with the actions and emotions of the characters, making the musical aesthetic extremely meaningful. The music not only smoothly transitions from one scene to another, but it also productively builds up these scenes as well. In effect, this film creatively appears to be one on-going music video; a music video about love, hope, dreams, relationships, and heartbreak.
Images of striped knee socks, blue eye shadow, thick mascara, pig tails, lipstick, sparkles, stilettos, long bangs, brightly colored scarves, camera flashes, dyed hair, and metallic body suits make the visuals very appealing and stunning throughout the film. Such dramatized costumes and over-done makeup not only emphasize the theme of unending possibilities during this hippie era, but also a theme of self-discovery alongside a vibe of loud-and-proud erotically aggressive statements about sexual identity. Nudity and pelvic poses also produce an intentionally seductive and sexually rebellious theme throughout this particular film. In fact Brian Slade even goes as far as to say that “rock and roll is prostitute”. After seeing “Velvet Goldmine” it is obvious why Haynes received the Artistic Achievement Award for this film.
However, the acting was a bit overshadowed by the musical energy and ravishing visuals. More emotional acting would have made the characters seem much more realistic and compelling. The close camera angles provided the perfect opportunity for intimacy and relation between the characters and the audience, but the actors seemed a bit guarded and blank-faced. Nonetheless, the characters themselves accurately personified their real-life icons in both their attitudes and appearance.
All in all, this is an exhilarating and entertaining film that is well worth seeing for all adult audiences.
im pretty sure curt wilde is based off of iggy pop. he and kurt cobain are polar oposites in my book. but i enjoyed your review and could use to take a page from your book in that your sentence structure and writing are very easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteI also like that you picked up on the detective motif, but i felt like it detracted from the movie personally. Anyways, all-in-all a successful review I'd say.
Your review is full of strong imagery, you really emphasize how this film is a work of art. The list of images you give in the 5th paragraph really helps the reader to envision not only the movie but the era, and I thought it was helpful that you touched on this connection. Your description of the music was powerful. You sum it up well when you say, "in effect, this film creatively appears to be one on-going music video."
ReplyDeleteYour thesis is strong and clear, but I would have liked to hear more about why the ending left you frustrated and confused.
All in all, this is a strong review, good job!