Indie Gems: Factory Girl

Edie is a superstar.

Sienna Miller gives her best performance to date as doomed socialite Edie Sedgwick. She was a young girl with a lot of money that dreamed of the glamorous life. She meets Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce) and quickly becomes his muse. Life with Andy is perfect for Edie until she begins to get into drugs and starts a fling with a musician (Hayden Christensen) that ultimately tears her apart from Warhol. When her seemingly endless pocket book finally runs out, Edie hits rock bottom.

Of all the films I've seen featuring Andy Warhol, I must say I enjoyed Pearce's interpretation the most. He plays him with just the right amount of seriousness, flamboyant traits, nervous habits, yet solemn and focused. There's so much emotion packed in there that it's easy to see why so many people are obsessed with him. Miller's Edie is just as fascinating. I thought she captured her well and I'm really surprised Miller didn't get more attention for this role. Christensen was tolerable as the musician, or Billy Quinn depending on what DVD you own. It's an obvious play at Bob Dylan who Edie was rumored to have an affair. He apparently threatened to sue producers after the film was made because it made him "look responsible for Edie's death." Whether or not there's any truth to that rumor, I don't know.

The film's main setting is New York City and even though they didn't actually film a lot of their scenes there the crew did a convincing job of making it look as authentic as possible. Though the editing is a little choppy at times I thought it worked with the tone of the film. Edie's life was anything but perfect, so the film shouldn't be either.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "I just think sex is so abstract." - Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce)