Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Directed by Todd Haynes
Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
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What critics compared Velvet Goldmine to
Writer/director/editor/composer/costume designer/art director Anna Biller (whose previous movie Viva has become a minor cult classic) saturates her films with a fiendish attention to vividly retro mise-en-scène that’s reminiscent of Queer Cinema directors like Todd Haynes ( Velvet Goldmine ) or James Bidgood ( Pink Narcissus ).
Instead, he energizes them through simple and persuasive means, including the rangy, purposeful use of widescreen (the bobbing, fluid cinematography is by Maryse Alberti, who also shot The Wrestler, as well as Velvet Goldmine and Tape) and a judiciously chosen hip-hop soundtrack that nods to local heroes (Meek Mill gets pride of place) while playfully interpolating the melody of Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now,” holding back the actual, bombastic fanfare until he really needs it like a fighter preserving his haymaker for the final round.
Simple locations and low-key lighting by cinematographer Maryse Alberti (“The Wrestler,” “Velvet Goldmine”) elevate the convivially gritty mood.
But it is director Todd Haynes, oozing the confidence that defined 2002’s Far From Heaven , who is the real magician here, combining the subversive clout of his 1991 Jean Genet-inspired Poison with the flawlessly empathetic character study of 1995’s Safe and the swooning period detail of 1998’s Velvet Goldmine .
Music has played a significant role in many of Todd Haynes’ films – from Velvet Goldmine to I’m Not There - and while it’s not exactly central to the plot of his newest movie, Burwell’s arrangements notably add to the emotionality of every scene.
And it is Haynes—without the extravagant shape-shifting masquerades of Velvet Goldmine and Poison —coming out as well.
He explored camp in Velvet Goldmine (1998) and melodrama in Safe (1995) and Far From Heaven (2002), then surprised everyone by casting Blanchett (among others) as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There (2007).
With a filmography that includes “Far From Heaven” and “Velvet Goldmine,” Haynes has long been fascinated with how, in prior eras, the love that dare not speak its name introduced itself.
Haynes doesn’t exactly crank them out; he hasn’t made more than a handful of films since ( Velvet Goldmine , Safe , Far From Heaven , I’m Not There ), but all of them have been well worth watching.
From the loveable ugly duckling of Muriel's Wedding and the glamorous rock chick of Velvet Goldmine to the rattled mother of The Sixth Sense, and now the bereft Sandy of Japanese Story, Collette inhabits each movie as if dressed in a different skin - indeed, many viewers may not even realise that her various roles were performed by the same person.
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Director Todd Haynes (Carol, I'm Not There, Velvet Goldmine) works from a script by Samy Burch, and explores the nature of acting and artifice – both personal and cinematic.
Make no mistake. While Haynes has told stories of misunderstood lovers before, in films like Carol and Velvet Goldmine, that is not his aim with May December. Julianne Moore, who starred in Haynes's Safe and Far From Heaven, crafts Gracie with a gentle facade.
In such films as Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There, filmmaker Todd Haynes has taken the stories of famous people and utilized what we know—or think we know—about them to explore ideas about celebrity and our all-consuming need to render their often-complex stories into straightforward narratives.