Despite charismatic performances by Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol and Sienna Miller as his one-time muse, Edie Sedgwick, FACTORY GIRL is a mediocre film. Shot on every kind of film bar standard 32 mil and "benefiting" from heavy-handed inter-cutting of talking heads, flash-backs and conventional narrative, the film-makers try to give the movie a gonzo-energetic sixties documentary feel. They fail miserably because the film is otherwise so conventional. An underground scene of real energy and chaos thus becomes a conventional love-triangle story with a helping of poor-little-rich-girl thrown in for kicks. The love triangle features Andy Warhol indulging in a sort of asexual love affair with Edie Sedgwick, conveniently exploiting Edie's beauty and patrician connections. He drops her for the even more glamorous Nico as punishment for her love affair with a crypto-Dylan figure played by the hopelessly outclassed Hayden Christensen. This story strand is pure day-time TV. To wit, the sex scene between Edie and the crypto-Dylan is all crackling log fires and soft focus, pearl-lighting. And as for the poor-little-rich-girl storyline, don't get me started on the irony of a movie that portrays Edie partially as a victim of her father's incestuous attentions as well as Warhol's more conventional financial exploitation but then plays fast and loose with Dylan's reputation, presumably to spice up the recognisable headcount for the yoof-market. So, despite the chilling and memorable portrayal of Warhol of a man who confuses morality with beauty, FACTORY GIRL is sadly very, very ordinary indeed.FACTORY GIRL is released in the US on Feb 2nd and in the UK on March 16th.
Funny. Considering all the recent hoopla around this I assumed it was going to be some great flick.
ReplyDeleteWell, mine is but one opinion and Sienna Miller IS fantastic....
ReplyDeleteHey man, you are a really good writer and I look forward to reading some more of your reviews but I'm a little confused about what you mean by the irony regarding the portrayal of Dylan when compared To Edie. Maybe if I see the flick I'll understand what you mean.
ReplyDelete@Cynicism is hip. Yeah, looking back it wasn't one of my most transparent posts. Essentially the irony is this: on the one hand, the film-makers say Edie was used and abused in her lifetime. Fair enough. On the other hand, they use and abuse Bob Dylan by creating a Dylanesque figure in all but name who is a super-rat. I find it ironic to slate exploitation on one hand, but to be an exploiter at the same time. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteThats very dissopointing :(. Its such an introusting story, just out of curiousity what part did Mary Kate Olsen play?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous. Sorry, I didn't notice her in this film at all.
ReplyDeleteo thats funny they must have recasted her i read on wikipedia that the main characters were Seinna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christianson, Jimmy Fallon, and Mary Kate Olsen. O well.
ReplyDeleteo sorry never mind this is what it says NOW on wikipedia "This is the first movie that Mary-Kate Olsen will appear in without her twin sister (although her scenes have been deleted from the final cut, with the exception of a scene where she can be seen standing in the background, admiring a painting)." So sorry.
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