Film: velvet goldmine (18)
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Cork-born newcomer Jonathan Rhys Meyers explodes into the limelight this week with three movies, including Todd Haynes's eagerly-awaited glam-rock epic, Velvet Goldmine (above). Technically masterful but cold, this is less a historical document than a wet dream inspired by the glam scene in Britain, circa 1971.
Rhys Meyers plays the flamboyant, Bowie-esque Brian Slade, while Ewan McGregor is his trouser-dropping, Iggy Pop-inspired lover. Their relationship, like so much of the film, is pure fantasy. But that, Haynes would argue, is the point: glam thrived on blurring lines - male/female, reality/appearance, past/present - and it is this aspect which he is exploring and representing.
Judging by the polarised reactions to the film, he has also blurred the distinction between masterpiece and curate's egg. You decide.
On general release
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