Thursday Movie Picks: Muses
1) Factory Girl
Sienna Miller gives a career best performance as Edie Sedgwick, who goes on to become Andy Warhol's muse with tragic results.
2) Girl With A Pearl Earring
Greit becomes somewhat of a muse for painter Johannes Vermeer. While this film is a tad slow, there are great performances all around. Even Cillian Murphy in that awful wig.
3) Phantom Thread
Alma becomes a muse, and wife, and eventually something much stranger to Reynolds Woodcock. I didn't love this movie as much as Film Twitter did but I certainly laughed my ass off at a part that probably wasn't meant to be laughed at.
I went completely off the rails this week and considering I haven't seen any of your picks, no wonder I had to improvise with the theme. :D
ReplyDeleteI liked what you did with it though, it's different!
DeleteYou're not the only one who improvised. :-)
DeleteNothing wrong with that! :)
Delete"Is it just me or is there a shortage on movies with male muses" - you are right! I should go to Hollywood and start making those
ReplyDeleteI bet I could guess which actors would get the muse roles too lol
DeleteHey we have a match!! Pearl Earring did have a somewhat stately pace but the actors kept the audience engaged. I loved Judy Parfitt as Vermeer's mother-in-law.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that DDL doesn't stick to his word that Phantom Thread is his final film because I hated it. The fact that it had some nice fashions wasn't enough to compensate for the snail pace or unpleasant people it contained.
Haven't seen Factory Girl. Having read "Edie" and knowing what a disaster she made of her life I didn't feel the need to watch her downward spiral reenacted.
I can't think of a single title about a male muse, if there are any they're thin on the ground. But then there really aren't that many about female muses either, at least not that I'm aware of but I did manage three.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)-Griet (Scarlett Johansson) works as a maid for painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) with whom she shares a platonic friendship, a fact kept secret for fear of provoking the painter's jealous wife, Catharina (Essie Davis). When Vermeer’s wealthy patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson) turns a lustful eye towards Griet he commissions a painting of her and Vermeer and Griet are obliged to spend long hours alone together as she becomes the muse for his most famous portrait.
Camille Claudel (1988)-French sculptor Auguste Rodin (Gérard Depardieu) takes the precocious Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani) under his wing when he notices her raw sculpting talent and the two quickly begin a scandalous affair. Camille becomes Auguste's muse and assistant, sacrificing her own work to contribute to his sculptures. However, when Camille’s work goes unrecognized and she desires attention of her own she is left alone and gradually spirals into mental illness. Not an easy film, these are deeply flawed and difficult people, but Adjani is electric in the lead and was deservedly nominated for an Academy award.
Funny Face (1957)-Fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) is searching for a new look and the next big style trend when he wanders into a Greenwich Village bookshop and discovers clerk Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) who with a little pressure and persuasion he whisks off to Paris where she becomes his inspiration and muse….all set to the music of George and Ira Gershwin!
Funny Face is such a sweet movie. I haven't seen your second pick. I also hope DDL goes back on his retirement because he can end on a better note than that.
DeleteYou are right about male muse, the one that pops into my head is the relationship between Fellini and Mastrorianni...if I spelled his name right:). Maybe that film, The Talented Mr. Ripley could count. Anyhoo, love The Girl With The Pearl Earring and I was blessed to see this actual painting which is magnificent! I loved this film and found Johanssen perfect in that role. I have yet to see the other 2 but they sound good.
ReplyDeleteI need to watch The Talented Mr. Ripley, it's been in my Netflix queue for ages.
DeleteI didn’t love The Phantom Thread as much as everyone else either
ReplyDeleteI kept getting Twitter ads for it too telling me how great it was. It's like it was shaming me. lol
DeleteI do love Phantom Thread and Girl with a Pearl Earring. Factory Girl not so much despite Sienna Miller's performance. I just didn't like some of the casting and dramatic liberties it took. I doubt there will be a definitive movie about Edie Sedgwick who is an interesting personality. It's just that there's so much legal issues that has to be dealt with. Especially from Bob Dylan's camp.
ReplyDeleteI think Hayden's character was definitely the worst part about it, but I liked Miller and Pierce's Warhol was really good as well.
DeleteThe lack of male muses - well I suppose because in most of the movies the artists are males so their muses are often female and there are so much fewer movies about female artists.
ReplyDeleteHollywood needs to get on that.
DeleteHmm... 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' has me intrigued. Plus I love Cillian Murphey =D
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the inclusion of Phantom Thread. It is such an incredible film, and interestingly it has many facets, to what you speak about here to many more.
Can you tell I love Phantom Thread? =P
I can understand the love Phantom Thread gets.
Delete