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Velvet Goldmine Movie Review

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Actors: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Christian Bale
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Velvet Goldmine
This is a story about Brian Slade, a glam rock singer in the late sixties and early seventies. It charts his rise to super stardom and his eventual decline. In the beginning, Brian Slade is married to a woman named Mandy. They are happy having a very open relationship and engaging in orgies. During this time Brian also has a lover named Curt Wild who is also a rock star. Brian and Curt inspire many people to be more open about homosexuality. Sadly, they eventually have a falling out and Brian has a breakdown and begins to believe that he is Maxwell Demon. However, Maxwell Demon is a fictional alien that Brian himself created. All of these events bring about Brian's decline and eventually Brain decides to pretend to be assassinated while on stage. Ten years later the world is changed and Arthur Stewart a journalist must find out where Mr. Slade is now in order to learn why he faked his death.
--, Resident Scholar

Arthur Stuart (Bale) is a journalist assigned to cover the 10th anniversary of a publicity stunt gone wrong committed by glam-rocker Brian Slade (Rhys-Meyers). Slade had been a glitteringly outrageous bisexual icon for many young people, including Stuart. He is reluctant to relive those days as Stuart was going through a painful exploration himself, including questioning his own sexuality as a young man. Through flashbacks, we see the Bowie-like rise and trajectory of Slade, including his introduction to the eccentric American rocker Curt Wild (McGregor), a sort of Iggy Pop-Kurt Cobain amalgam.

Lots of music from the era -- Roxy Music, T-Rex, Gary Glitter, etc. --including new music created to sound as if from that era. Toni Collette and Eddie Izzard have supporting roles as Slade's wife and manager.

The bit of fantasy involves a thread of plot surrounding what appears to be a magical brooch once owned by Oscar Wilde that appears throughout the film.

--ldpaulson, Resident Scholar

The sexual and personal exploits of a bisexual rock star of the nineteen seventies. The result of which is the main charector faking his death. ten years later, a journalist tries to find out what has happened to the star.
--Jasmine Burns, Resident Scholar



Analysis of Velvet Goldmine
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Plot
Time/era of movie: - 1960's-1970's
Taboo Sex Story? Yes
Kind of sex: - Two guys MAKING OUT (squish squish!)
Job/Profession/Poverty Story? Yes
Job: - musician
Training/apprentice story Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - singer/musician
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - wild
Hair color? - another color
Hair type - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - (man) average
Unclothed? - Chest and Buttocks
Events of movie makes character more... - sad
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Body type - (man) average build
Unclothed? - full frontal

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric: Yes
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair type - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - California
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Sex/nudity in movie? Yes
What kind of sex: - kissing - touching of personal anatomy - orgies - actual description of sex - seeing breasts - seeing nude male butt - seeing full frontal--men - sex under blankets
Any profanity? - A lot of foul language
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE... - Classic/oldies rock
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