Saturday, September 17, 2016

Velvet Goldmine (1998)


In 1984, a British journalist investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.

Using a plot modeled after Citizen Kane this movie offers some great period details and music and succeeds in recreating the 70s glam rock scene; the story, however, remains negligible in comparison.

Halliwell**: "A camp account of a camp phenomenon, flamboyantly revelling in the fakery and the androgynous appeal of it all."

Maltin**1/2: "Opulent, glittery paean toearly '70s glam rock (and youth-culture head movies like QUADROPHENIA and PERFORMANCE) is such a triumph of style and excess it's easy to overlook the film's clinky CITIZEN KANE narrative structure and emotionally aloof characters. Rhys Meyers is effectively snotty as a bisexual David Bowie-esque pop star, but Collette is a standout as his negelcted party-girl wife..."

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