REVIEW ONE
Velvet Goldmine Review
由 Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)
November 8th, 1998
Susan Granger's review of "VELVET GOLDMINE" (Miramax Films)
Set in the sex-and-drug 伦敦 音乐 scene of the '70s, this surreal, sensual musical romance divided critics at the Cannes Film Festival but won film-maker Todd Haynes a special prize from the jury for best artistic contribution. The sheer glitter and glitz of its energetic soundtrack may lure hip movie-goers, along with its 音乐电视 rock-video approach to film-making. Presented in an ambitious pseudo-documentary style, lifted from Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," it's the story of a fictional glam rocker, Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who, in a publicity stunt in 1974 while at the height of his popularity, faked an assassination attempt on his life. When the hoax was revealed, his career evaporated as his disillusioned 粉丝 abandoned him. Ten years later, a British journalist and former 粉丝 (Christian Bale) goes searching for Slade and interviews his former lover, a flamboyant 星, 星级 (charismatic Ewan McGregor), and former wife (Toni Collette). Problem is: Orson Welles' classic 1941 mystery revolving about the motivations of a wealthy publishing tycoon had intriguing characters, while Todd Haynes' androgynous pop-idol has little to reflect upon except a short life of promiscuous bisexuality and decadent excess. "We set out to change the world," McGregor muses, "and ended up changing only ourselves." The message of the movie is simply: "It doesn't matter what a man does with his life. What matters is the legend that grows up around him." On the other hand, the visual presentation is colorful, splashy and splendid. So, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Velvet Goldmine" is a frenetic 6. Caution: its sexual content, nudity, profanity, and drug usage make it unacceptable for most of the young teenage audience at whom it's directly aimed.
REVIEW TWO
Todd Haynes, acclaimed for his 1995 feature, "Safe," has pulled off quite a feat with "Velvet Goldmine." Incredibly, the writer-director manages to take the British glam-rock era, one of the most colorful, outrageous, fascinating periods in the history of contemporary music, and turn it into 120 分钟 of unfocused, surrealistic crap. This overwrought mishmash of style without substance most closely resembles Ken Russell's film version of "Tommy," and it's just as annoying.
Essentially, "Velvet Goldmine" simply rips-off the story of David Bowie through his Ziggy Stardust days, with one crucial difference. Bowie was interesting and Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is not. Bowie's breakthrough came in the '70s, when he pushed the prevailing hippie mentality into a 更多 theatrical, androgynous zone. He achieved notoriety in England 由 dressing in a 罩袍, 连衣裙, 工装 and trumpeting his bisexuality. Global success came when he adopted the persona of Ziggy Stardust, an orange- haired alien without eyebrows 或者 defined gender, slinking about the stage in feathered boas, inventive make-up and bizarre clothing. With his out- of-date slang and cheesy sci-fi imagery, Bowie seemed less like a genuine rock singer and 更多 like an actor playing one, but damned if he wasn't fun to watch. And it was easy to overlook his mannered, occassionally wince-inducing lyrical affectations, because the man wrote absolutely terrific songs.
During the Ziggy days, Bowie hit the publicity circuit with his look-a- like wife, Angela, even as rumors circulated about him being spotted in the sack with Mick Jagger. When Johnny Carson asked Angela if she was concerned about all the girls chasing her husband, she cooed "Oh no, darling, it's the boys I have to worry about." Shortly before ditching the Ziggy persona for a white-suited soul identity, Bowie told reporters of his belief that, sooner 或者 later, a rock singer would be assassinated onstage.
Haynes takes it from there. In his story, Brian Slade fakes his own onstage death, but is exposed as a fraud and falls from grace with fans. Ten years later, melancholy journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is assigned a "whatever happened to" story, and sets out to discover the final fate of Brian Slade. The "Citizen Kane" framework, while pretentious, provides the only successful facet of the production, with Bale offering a strong performance as a former glam 粉丝 whose painful memories of trying to make the glitter scene are stirred 由 the investigation.
With subject matter like this, Todd Haynes should have been able to turn out one hell of a juicy film, but "Velvet Goldmine" never takes flight. Instead of delving into the psyches of the characters, Haynes trots out a series of tedious rock videos, tacked together with preening actors, elaborate fashion shows and periodic make-out scenes between the boys. Having a bad actor in the lead role doesn't help matters. As Brian Slade, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is woefully inadequate, projecting zero charisma as he pouts his way through the movie. Never for a moment do 你 believe this kid could orchestrate his own superstardom.
Ewan McGregor is better as Curt Wild, an American rocker who is the object of Slade's affections. Wild is supposed to be modeled after legendary punk-burnout and Bowie protégé Iggy Pop, though McGregor's performance is 更多 reminiscent of Kurt Cobain than Iggy. Incidentally, this is at least the third film featuring McGregor waggling his cock around, making him eligible for the Harvey Keitel Penis Exposure Hall Of Fame.
In a supporting role, Toni Collette does what she can as Mandy, Slade's wife. She makes little impression during the flashbacks, but has a certain Marianne Faithfull ravaged survivor quality in the latter-day interview scenes set in a dingy pub. As Brian Slade's manager, Eddie Izzard merely growls and struts.
"Velvet Goldmine" is maddening because it takes material with great potential and utterly wastes it. The glam rock era was a heady time, with its sexual experimentation, blurred gender lines, grandiose theatrics and knock-out music. Instead of probing the minds behind the phenomena, Todd Haynes settles for a gauzy surface glance; a tarted-up tribute without any oomph. "Velvet Goldmine" is to glam rock what the "Beatlemania" stage 显示 was to the Beatles; just a bunch of poseurs going through the motions. David Bowie refused to let Haynes use his name 或者 any of his 音乐 for the movie. Good for him. Hopefully, Bowie will wait until a filmmaker comes along with the chops to really do justice to the dizzying saga of Ziggy Stardust.
Velvet Goldmine Review
由 Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)
November 8th, 1998
Susan Granger's review of "VELVET GOLDMINE" (Miramax Films)
Set in the sex-and-drug 伦敦 音乐 scene of the '70s, this surreal, sensual musical romance divided critics at the Cannes Film Festival but won film-maker Todd Haynes a special prize from the jury for best artistic contribution. The sheer glitter and glitz of its energetic soundtrack may lure hip movie-goers, along with its 音乐电视 rock-video approach to film-making. Presented in an ambitious pseudo-documentary style, lifted from Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," it's the story of a fictional glam rocker, Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who, in a publicity stunt in 1974 while at the height of his popularity, faked an assassination attempt on his life. When the hoax was revealed, his career evaporated as his disillusioned 粉丝 abandoned him. Ten years later, a British journalist and former 粉丝 (Christian Bale) goes searching for Slade and interviews his former lover, a flamboyant 星, 星级 (charismatic Ewan McGregor), and former wife (Toni Collette). Problem is: Orson Welles' classic 1941 mystery revolving about the motivations of a wealthy publishing tycoon had intriguing characters, while Todd Haynes' androgynous pop-idol has little to reflect upon except a short life of promiscuous bisexuality and decadent excess. "We set out to change the world," McGregor muses, "and ended up changing only ourselves." The message of the movie is simply: "It doesn't matter what a man does with his life. What matters is the legend that grows up around him." On the other hand, the visual presentation is colorful, splashy and splendid. So, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Velvet Goldmine" is a frenetic 6. Caution: its sexual content, nudity, profanity, and drug usage make it unacceptable for most of the young teenage audience at whom it's directly aimed.
REVIEW TWO
Todd Haynes, acclaimed for his 1995 feature, "Safe," has pulled off quite a feat with "Velvet Goldmine." Incredibly, the writer-director manages to take the British glam-rock era, one of the most colorful, outrageous, fascinating periods in the history of contemporary music, and turn it into 120 分钟 of unfocused, surrealistic crap. This overwrought mishmash of style without substance most closely resembles Ken Russell's film version of "Tommy," and it's just as annoying.
Essentially, "Velvet Goldmine" simply rips-off the story of David Bowie through his Ziggy Stardust days, with one crucial difference. Bowie was interesting and Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is not. Bowie's breakthrough came in the '70s, when he pushed the prevailing hippie mentality into a 更多 theatrical, androgynous zone. He achieved notoriety in England 由 dressing in a 罩袍, 连衣裙, 工装 and trumpeting his bisexuality. Global success came when he adopted the persona of Ziggy Stardust, an orange- haired alien without eyebrows 或者 defined gender, slinking about the stage in feathered boas, inventive make-up and bizarre clothing. With his out- of-date slang and cheesy sci-fi imagery, Bowie seemed less like a genuine rock singer and 更多 like an actor playing one, but damned if he wasn't fun to watch. And it was easy to overlook his mannered, occassionally wince-inducing lyrical affectations, because the man wrote absolutely terrific songs.
During the Ziggy days, Bowie hit the publicity circuit with his look-a- like wife, Angela, even as rumors circulated about him being spotted in the sack with Mick Jagger. When Johnny Carson asked Angela if she was concerned about all the girls chasing her husband, she cooed "Oh no, darling, it's the boys I have to worry about." Shortly before ditching the Ziggy persona for a white-suited soul identity, Bowie told reporters of his belief that, sooner 或者 later, a rock singer would be assassinated onstage.
Haynes takes it from there. In his story, Brian Slade fakes his own onstage death, but is exposed as a fraud and falls from grace with fans. Ten years later, melancholy journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is assigned a "whatever happened to" story, and sets out to discover the final fate of Brian Slade. The "Citizen Kane" framework, while pretentious, provides the only successful facet of the production, with Bale offering a strong performance as a former glam 粉丝 whose painful memories of trying to make the glitter scene are stirred 由 the investigation.
With subject matter like this, Todd Haynes should have been able to turn out one hell of a juicy film, but "Velvet Goldmine" never takes flight. Instead of delving into the psyches of the characters, Haynes trots out a series of tedious rock videos, tacked together with preening actors, elaborate fashion shows and periodic make-out scenes between the boys. Having a bad actor in the lead role doesn't help matters. As Brian Slade, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is woefully inadequate, projecting zero charisma as he pouts his way through the movie. Never for a moment do 你 believe this kid could orchestrate his own superstardom.
Ewan McGregor is better as Curt Wild, an American rocker who is the object of Slade's affections. Wild is supposed to be modeled after legendary punk-burnout and Bowie protégé Iggy Pop, though McGregor's performance is 更多 reminiscent of Kurt Cobain than Iggy. Incidentally, this is at least the third film featuring McGregor waggling his cock around, making him eligible for the Harvey Keitel Penis Exposure Hall Of Fame.
In a supporting role, Toni Collette does what she can as Mandy, Slade's wife. She makes little impression during the flashbacks, but has a certain Marianne Faithfull ravaged survivor quality in the latter-day interview scenes set in a dingy pub. As Brian Slade's manager, Eddie Izzard merely growls and struts.
"Velvet Goldmine" is maddening because it takes material with great potential and utterly wastes it. The glam rock era was a heady time, with its sexual experimentation, blurred gender lines, grandiose theatrics and knock-out music. Instead of probing the minds behind the phenomena, Todd Haynes settles for a gauzy surface glance; a tarted-up tribute without any oomph. "Velvet Goldmine" is to glam rock what the "Beatlemania" stage 显示 was to the Beatles; just a bunch of poseurs going through the motions. David Bowie refused to let Haynes use his name 或者 any of his 音乐 for the movie. Good for him. Hopefully, Bowie will wait until a filmmaker comes along with the chops to really do justice to the dizzying saga of Ziggy Stardust.