All Sparkle and Song: A review of “Velvet Goldmine”

Audience: frequent reader of the New York Times
(Specifically someone who dabbles in viewing artistic movies)


All Sparkle and Song: A review of “Velvet Goldmine”

Don’t try to make sense of it, just enjoy the ride. “Velvet Goldmine,” titled after the song by David Bowie, and unofficially based on the pop icon’s life, follows the styles, relationships, and hair-dos throughout his career. With a spirited mix of Oscar Wilde quotes to spice up the dialogue, “Velvet Goldmine” is a disorienting conglomeration of late 70s music, glitter eye make-up, and bi-sexuality.

“Velvet Goldmine” is the journey of journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) as he investigates the life of former glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As Mr. Bale interviews the rock star’s past friends and lovers, the viewer goes on a sensory psychedelic trip through time.

Artistic direction was the key to getting inside the mind of the mysterious, reckless rocker. After watching the film, a vision of hot pinks, turquoises and silver lingers behind the eyelids, similar to the impression after viewing fireworks. Additionally, a number of scenes were frightening, yet mesmerizing, such as Curt Wilde’s (Ewan McGregor) musical performance of shouting amidst flames, ending in a full frontal view of Mr. McGregor, leather pants about his ankles.

Each actor plays into the hyperbole of his character. Mr. Meyers is all showy and beautiful, as a star of glam rock should be. Mr. McGregor plays the perfect counterpart (and lover) of Meyers, as a wild out-of-his-mind rocker with no regard for social norms, society, or himself. Christian Bale plays a stoic journalist, yet the flashbacks to his outcast, sexually confused youth are heartrending enough to endear him to the audience. And Toni Collette plays a sufficient rejected rocker wife as Mandy Slade, besides her puzzling accent transitions from American to affected British. However, at times the characters seem like mere devices to showcase the film’s true intention: to be one giant fantasy music video.

In “Velvet Goldmine” the music is the focal point. The music slows down the action, essentially aiding the viewer in making sense of the chaotic film. Throughout the film clips of music videos are edited in with minimal transition, making the film itself seem like a music video. The songs themselves are not memorable, but the way they are enacted with decked out feather and glitter costumes, heavy eye make-up, and flared hair is unforgettable.

For the most part, “Velvet Goldmine” is a mixed bag of glam rock and gay culture. The Oscar Wilde references are a nice addition to the film’s sexual vision, although they get lost at times amongst the overpowering visuals. Even with the superfluous storylines following a mysterious green broach and the career of a little shown character by the name of Jack Fairy, the film makes sense because it is about rock stars, and their music. In a rock star’s world only the music makes sense.

References for review Context

www.1worldfilms.com/federico_fellini.htm

I liked the information that this site provided about Federico Fellini’s life as a film director in the 1960’s. It was essential to learn about Fellini since he wrote the original script and directed the original film, 8 ½, that Nine was based on, not to mention that the script was about his life. I like how this site puts his films into context with the other films produced in his time.

www.guardian.co.uk/film/1999/apr/22/derekmalcolmscenturyoffilm.derekmalcolm

This site provided nice background information about Fellini’s movie 8 ½. It told about Fellini’s innovative techniques and how the audience didn’t know how to perceive such a chaotic, honest movie at first. Fellini didn’t cover up emotions or vices. It shows how much of an innovator Fellini was in his time. Even though I have not seen 8 ½, I could gather enough information from this article to be authoritative for my review.

Revised Review of Nine

Screen, Stage and Back to Screen:
Federico Fellini’s "8 ½" comes back as Rob Marshall’s "Nine"

According to Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of "Nine" an Italian man’s life is riddled with passion, depression and complicated relations with (multiple) women. Dazzling musical numbers are paired with dramatic relationships to make the film more of an artistic show than an emotional ride.

"Nine" begins as Italian superstar director Guido Contini (played by an endearing Daniel Day-Lewis) attempts to reignite his career. However, he delays his script-writing by fantasizing about his personal life and reminiscing about his past.

Ultimately, "Nine" is the story of a man and his women—the women who tempt him and guide him, his inspirations and downfalls. The women in Contini’s life include an all-star female cast of his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penélope Cruz), his muse (Nicole Kidman), his enthusiastic fan (Kate Hudson), his voice of reason (Judi Dench), his mother (Sophia Loren) and his childhood teacher on temptation (Fergie.)

The plethora of female sensations (each with an Oscar, or at least a nomination, under her belt) makes it hard to separate the actress from her off-screen identity. On the other hand, Daniel Day-Lewis plays into the distinct Italian charm of his character: a half smile with warm eyes, running fingers through his hair and restlessly smoking cigarette after cigarette. It’s hard to dislike a man who depends on a sharp-witted Judi Dench for advice and carries a deep affinity for the comforting, motherly, and still sexy Sophia Loren.

Despite, or due to, the many relationships throughout the film, there is no central love story. "Nine"’s previous success as a Broadway musical could get away with neglecting emotional connections, but in a film an audience expects some romance. (Especially after seeing most of the female cast as spectacular romantic leads in other films i.e. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.) Even though it is evident that Contini’s true love is his career, the limited screen time for each actress leaves one wanting more from their relationships with him.

Individually the emotive song and dance pieces were captivating, yet they lost their poignancy when interspersed with the real time scenes. The poor editing between the two types of scenes makes the viewer feel a little empty, unfulfilled, and not quite immersed in the film. It seems like a waste to hire professional dancers only to cut out the majority of their performances. Similarly, it’s a shame to cut out an actor’s expression for a view of Kate Hudson’s sparkling rear end. In the end, the editing needed to be as captivating as the two scenes that it melded together.

Perhaps the strange melding has to do with "Nine"'s original form, Otto e Mezzo (81/2), the innovative autobiographical work of the 1960’s Italian director Federico Fellini. In his time, the film’s smooth flow from fantasy to reality was a new concept which went on to influence other film makers. Now that Fellini’s technique has been played out over again and again, it’s difficult to appreciate the free-flowing mix of fantasy and reality in "Nine."

As for artistic direction, "Nine" shines for its ability to make every shot “like a postcard,” (as said by Kate Hudson’s character about Contini’s movies.) Each scene is colored to reflect a mood and evoke a feeling as well as a sense of place. The storyline in the present is portrayed in normal cinematic style, which contrasts nicely with the past blurry black and white of the past. The scenes in Contini’s imagination include impressive cabaret style musical numbers which are all glittery costumes and lively dancing (and appropriately dark when necessary.) The visual chaos of light, color and movement create an artistically pleasing representation of Contini’s mind.

Throughout its evolutions, from film to musical and back to film, Federico Fellini’s original story lost its ingenuity, yet managed to salvage some artistic impact. Due to its chaotic nature and reliance on musical numbers, "Nine" works best on today’s colorful stage and yesterday’s silver screen.

What does it mean to “Be Italian?”

Rob Marshall’s film Nine explores both the glamour and the gloom of an Italian man, his career and his women. Dazzling musical numbers are paired with dramatic relationships to make the film more of an artistic show than an emotional ride.
Nine begins as Italian superstar director Guido Contini (played by an endearing Daniel Day-Lewis), attempts to reignite his career. However, he delays his script-writing by fanaticizing about his personal life and reminiscing about his past.
Ultimately, Nine is the story of a man and his women—the women who tempt him and guide him, his inspirations and downfalls. The women in Contini’s life include an all-star female cast of Marion Cotillard (his wife), Penélope Cruz (his mistress), Nicole Kidman (his muse), Kate Hudson (his enthusiastic fan), Judi Dench (his voice of reason), Sophia Loren (his mother) and Fergie (his childhood teacher on temptation.)
It’s hard to dislike Daniel Day-Lewis, despite his character’s dishonesty and weakness for women other than his wife. He plays into the charm of his character: the handsome, romantic Italian man. The clincher for his likability is the helplessness revealed when he turns to his costume designer (Judi Dench) for reassurance and advice, not to mention his affinity for his deceased mother (Sophia Loren).
In spite of, or due to, the many relationships interacting throughout the film, there is no central love story. The limited screen time for each actress leaves you wanting more from some storylines, and perhaps less from others. Nicole Kidman’s tears paired with her decadent gown and jewelry is reminiscent of her emotive performance in Moulin Rouge. It was unsatisfying to only see her for one brief musical number as she lamented her complicated relationship with Contini. On the contrary, Marion Cotillard’s two musical performances, while entertaining and aesthetically pleasing, leave the viewer wanting for an emotional connection between her and her husband.
As for artistic direction, Nine shines for its ability to make every shot “like a postcard” (as said by Kate Hudson’s character says about Contini’s movies.) Each scene is colored to reflect a mood and evoke a feeling as well as a sense of place. The storyline in the present is portrayed in normal cinematic style, which contrasts nicely with the blurry black and white of the past. The scenes of Contini’s imagination include impressive cabaret style musical numbers, which are all glittery costumes and lively dancing (and appropriately dark when necessary.) The visual chaos of light, color, and movement create an artistically pleasing representation of Contini’s mind.
Due to its chaotic nature and reliance on musical numbers, Nine was certainly meant for the stage. Although the music was catchy and the dancing was rhythmic, the interspersed story snippets make the viewer feel a little empty, unfulfilled, and not quite immersed in the film. Overall, Nine does a fine job of showing Italian art, but falls short in fully feeling Italian romance.