Category: Style

Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful is a documentary film about the life and times of Helmut Newton, the famous and ever-controversial photographer. Newton — who once said that “there are only two dirty words: art and good taste” — was known in life as a subversive artist, taking nude photographs of female models in voyeuristic positions. Though many — in real life and in the documentary — defend Newton’s work, there is an increasingly vocal contingent of people who believe that Newton’s work is less subversive than it seems.

And while that may be a valid argument, it’s certainly not one that the film gives much credence to. That’s perhaps the oddest thing about The Bad and The Beautiful: how safe the film plays it. As a movie about such a provocative, controversial figure, one might have thought that the film would be equally unflinching, but that is far from the case. The film is straightforward to a tee, almost tediously so, and it never really asks any hard questions.  It’s form and structure are familiar and practiced, and the direction is competent, though far from novel. Sure, there is a small portion dedicated to the images of Newton’s that have been labeled as misogynistic, but even then there’s only a single detracting voice (the fact that that voice is Susan Sontag carries a bit of weight of course, but the point still stands). Beyond that though, there’s less substance than one might have expected. There’s certainly less style.

In the end then, Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful is a fantastic film for someone who is new to the precarious world of Newton’s imagery. Superfans — of Newton, fashion, photography or all three — won’t find much here that they don’t already know, and, while there’s nothing wrong with treading familiar territory, it certainly feels that the filmmakers might’ve left a better film on the cutting room floor. With all the behind-the-scenes footage at their fingertips, it seems impossible that this safe and, for the most part, respectful film was the best or even the most interesting one to be made. M

July 2020

Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

Halston is a documentary film about the life of American fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick. The film, which stars Liza Minnelli and Joel Schumacher as themselves, among others, is framed, oddly, as a noir film. The style, which evokes film classics like Citizen Kane or Sunset Boulevard, is brought to the viewer by actress Tavi Gevinson, who plays a detective of sorts who is set on keeping Halston’s memory alive.

The campy frame device is novel and unconventional, but it’s ultimately unneeded, as where the film really shines is in its real-life detail. Real-life is stranger than fiction, and that could not be truer than in the case of Roy Halston. Halston has clearly been meticulously researched, and the work shows. From the interviews to the old footage, director Frédéric Tcheng makes it clear that this is someone who not only deserves the audience’s attention, but also their respect. The details and insight we get are so honest that the narration, which at first is simply odd, begins to get in the way a bit. The story speaks for itself – and the filmmakers should probably have let it.

That said, Halston is a fantastic, multi-layered portrait of a fascinating artist living in a fascinating time. Halston, whose own popularity grew alongside the rise of disco, has a story unlike almost anyone in the fashion industry or in American pop culture more broadly, and getting to hear his story told — not only by people who knew him and wore his clothes, but by people who want to make sure his story is heard — makes watching the film and its odder stylistic choices all the more worth it. M

February 2019

Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

McQueen is a biographical documentary film that provides insight into the life and career of British designer Alexander McQueen and is based on archival footage and interviews with his friends and family,.

With McQueen, director Ian Bonhôte does what all good documentary filmmakers should; he lets the text speak for itself. Though the interviews and archival footage are situated in a certain way to tell a story, there is no grandstanding or coaching to be done. Bonhôte does not need to walk the audience through it; instead, it is all there on screen. The oddity and brilliance of an artist’s life cut too short is there to watch, and Bonhôte needs only to get it in front of our eyes. He does so in a fantastic way, and the interviews and secondary sources elevate McQueen’s own image. The film has the energy of Alexander himself, which is the highest of compliments. It is so successful in painting a full picture of man, that it feels like the designer could have made it himself.

This the real success of McQueen is that it doesn’t simply tell the story of an artist, it is art itself. Anyone with an interest — whether it be high fashion superfans or curious newcomers — should check this one out. M

August 2018