More on Fur from nicolefan17.This time a positive review of Fur Thanks nicolefan17


Fur: An Imaginary Portrait Of Diane Arbus


Mike Goodridge in Los Angeles 09 October 2006



Dir: Steven Shainberg. US. 2006. 122mins.

A surprising and seductive curio from Secretary director Steven Shainberg, Fur is one of the season’s most unusual films. On the one hand, its high-calibre cast led by Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr screams of prestige awards contender, while on the other its unconventional pacing, largely fictional story about the iconic Arbus and decidedly bizarre characters mark it out as a cult item which will infuriate as many as it enchants.

Fur already divided opinion when it had its world premiere screening at Telluride last month, although European audiences will probably be more favourable than those in the US when it has its international premiere as the opening night film of the inaugural Rome International Film Festival this week. Budgeted in the $12m region, it is a pricey specialised item, and the producers will be counting on the two star names to ensure payback in theatres and ancillary markets around the world.

The film, as the title makes very clear, is not a biopic of Arbus, the legendary photographer most famous for her portraits of life’s outsiders like dwarves, transvestites and prostitutes. It is, as the opening title card explains, “a film that invents characters and situations that reach beyond reality to express what might have been Arbus’ inner experience on her extraordinary path.”

In other words, Shainberg and his Secretary screenwriter Wilson have invented a story which might explain how Arbus went from a housewife, mother and the daughter of a wealthy New York family to become an artist, and how indeed she got to the point of leaving her husband.

The film, set in 1958, starts as a small fashion show takes place at the fancy New York apartment owned by Allan Arbus, a fashion and advertising photographer, and his wife Diane, who is his assistant. The show is for the latest furs from Russek’s, the Fifth Avenue fur store run by Diane’s imperious parents – her father (Yulin) and mother (Alexander). While Allan oversees the models, Diane buckles under the stress of her parents’ scrutiny and rushes out to the balcony where she instinctively unleashes her cleavage in full view of the neighbouring building.

Her hunger for adventure and curiosity for life outside her repressed existence are further awakened when she observes the arrival of her new upstairs neighbour Lionel (Downey Jr) whose face is concealed by a mask and scarf.

Over the following days, Diane becomes fascinated by Lionel and eventually dares to walk up to his apartment, armed with the camera which her husband bought her years before and which she has never used. On the promise that she wants to photograph him, she is invited in by Lionel, still masked, and the two embark on a friendship.

Lionel, it emerges, has an illness which means that he is covered in abundant hair from head to toe. His face is covered in hair, apart from his eyes, which penetrate deep into Diane’s soul. Regardless of his condition, Diane is mesmerised and she abandons all scruples as he introduces her into a netherworld peopled by those living on the fringes of society as she knows it – conjoined twins, dwarves, drag queens, giants and so on.

Diane starts neglecting her family, staying out night after night as Lionel shows her the other side of New York. She tries to bring Allan into her new circle, but he resists, leaving the path open for Diane to fall in love with Lionel.

The film’s portrayal of Arbus’ creative awakening is nothing more than fantasy, but it is an effective conceit which not only captures the direction of her future photography but also rather beautifully illustrates the soul of its characters beyond physical idiosyncrasies.

Shainberg deliberately paces the film like a dream, and mainstream audiences used to fast cutting and short scenes will be shuffling in their seats. Fortunately the two lead actors are so persuasive that the dreamlike journey of Arbus in the film becomes equally persuasive. When Diane starts shaving Lionel’s body hair and confessing her love for him, even as he himself is telling her of his impending death, the film has convincingly morphed from a “what if” whimsy to a genuinely affecting love story.

Kidman, once again demonstrating her impulse to take on unusual projects and characters, splendidly and subtly embodies the seachange in Diane, while Downey Jr, in one of the most challenging roles of his career, is captivating as Lionel. Even though he spends most of the film covered in hair, the actor hypnotizes Arbus and the screen with just his eyes.

Production companies
River Road Entertainment
Edward R Pressman Film Corp
Iron Films
Vox3 Films

US distribution
Picturehouse

International sales
New Line International

Executive producers
Edward R Pressman
Alessandro Camon
Michael Roban

Producers
William Pohlad
Laura Bickford
Bonnie Timmermann
Andrew Fierberg

Screenplay
Erin Cressida Wilson
Inspired by the book Diane Arbus: A Biography by Patricia Bosworth

Cinematography
Bill Pope

Production designer
Amy Danger

Editors
Keiko Deguchi
Kristina Boden

Music
Carter Burwell

Main cast
Nicole Kidman
Robert Downey Jr
Ty Burrell
Harris Yulin
Jane Alexander
Emmy Clarke
Genevieve McCarthy


ScreenDaily.com

thanks Foxy and Nicolefan17! that was awesome! = ) lots of love xoox

Thanks Foxy

Thank you!

Thanks foxy and Nicolefan17. That review is good to hear.

Thank you!

Thanks nicfan and Foxy! Every review I read - positive or negative, and this one captures some of the subtle eroticism of the trailer - merely confirms that this is a film I MUST see.

So $12mil (I assume US dollars) is a "pricey specialized item"? How much did The Hours cost? I thought $12mil was chump-change in the film world today, when budgets are averaging at $70mil and up. I have no doubt that the $12mil will be made back in the European and international market if not the US one. (On the other hand, I suppose the $12mil at least partly explains the lack of promotion - not much money for it.) And certainly if it's true that, as a theater owner recently told me, "the theatrical releases nowadays are just advertisements for the DVD's" then the studio will make it's money back one way or another - DVD's are not expensive to mass-produce, I understand.

It's odd actually, now that I think of it *here I go again* that promotion is such a huge part of the film industry and the whole process of selling a film. It seems to me that back in the '70's, say, when I was first becoming aware of films, it was more a matter of getting the films out there and letting them time to find their audience.

Thanks nicolefan17 and foxy

Thanx Nicolefan17 and Foxy 4 da review

~Viviana~

Darn, I just posted this in the "Yet another Fur review" thread. Oh well, I also posted this semi-review as well, by David Thomson from The Independent.

Thanks Nicolefan19. An interesting read - Thomson is at his best in small doses for me. (I notice he can't help popping in what in fanfiction would be called a *shameless plug* at every opportunity.)

I very much like this sentence: "You see there are so many ways of turning the raw skin of life into the fur coat called biography." That's brilliant.