Susan Granger's review of "VELVET GOLDMINE" (Miramax Films)
Set in the sex-and-drug London music 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 MTV 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 fans abandoned him. Ten years later, a British journalist and former fan (Christian Bale) goes searching for Slade and interviews his former lover, a flamboyant star (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.
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