Velvet Goldmine
Director: Todd Haynes Run Time: 123 min. Format: 35mm Rating: R Release Year: 1998
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Toni Collette, Christian Bale, Eddie Izzard, Emily Woof
Todd Hayne’s Velvet Goldmine centers around the over-the-top career and faux-murder-fall of 1970s glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Myers) as told through the 1984 journalist investigation by Arthur (Christian Bale). Post-Beatles, pre-punk, and loosely based on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Slade is the bisexual icon of London glam rock responsible for the shocking behavior and style of glam masses…and he’s had enough of himself. After faking his own death on stage, Slade slides into obscurity only to be rediscovered when Arthur revisits his influence. The film interweaves the characters past-and-present in a non-linear style, reflecting various aspects of Slade’s career and personal life. It goes without saying that Velvet Goldmine is highly stylised with a killer soundtrack.