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"Factory" final
Factory Final
I didn't say very much about Factory Girl when I riffed on it last August (I'd seen an early, far-from-finished cut) -- I mostly confined myself to praising Sienna Miller's performance as Edie Sedgwick, which I thought (and still think) is a deeply sad, near-perfect communing with the spirit of a proverbial damaged debutante.
Last night I saw a more-or-less complete version of Factory Girl (i.e., almost but not quite the exact same cut that's opening today in Los Angeles), and guess what? This is a much better film -- far more precise and filled in and rounded out -- but I liked it a bit more when it was funkier, rawer and less "complete." Strange but strangely true.
I realize, of course, that the choppier, more instinctual, not-quite-as-layered version that I liked or believed in a tiny bit more wouldn't play as well with general audien- ces, and I also recognize that the current version is a more finely woven thing. I'm just saying that the old Factory Girl felt less self-conscious -- it seemed hipper and more fuck-all Warholian. But no one else saw the August version so none of this matters.
Factory Girl is somewhere between a solid 7.5 and an 8 -- it has sufficient dramatic potency, it's atmospherically convincing and tonally accurate (for the most part), and it's extremely well acted by the leads. And the rotely cautionary theme that speaks to every nocturnal scenester out there only adds to the brew. Beware of temporary coolness and clubbing around and endlessly shooting the shit with your homies over drinks -- it'll turn you into toast. Stay home more, get into your art, take walks with your dog...invest in yourself and don't give it away.
There are two significant differences between last night's Factory Girl and the version I saw five months ago. Miller is still uncannily on-target -- she still has Sedgwick's "fluttery debutante laugh, that mixture of Warholian cool and little-girl terror, the giddy euphoria, the cracked voice," as I wrote last summer -- but Guy Pearce's Andy Warhol performance has been beefed up to an extent that he's no longer a distinct supporting character but a costar. And Hayden Christensen's Bob Dylan character (called "Danny Quinn" in the press notes but never called anything by anyone in the film) also seems a bit more assertive and sharply defined.
The old Factory Girl was basically a Sienna show with two strong supporting males. Now it's become a three-character piece that's using the myth-cliche of a romantic triangle (partly if not largely based on bullshit but so what?) to provide the dramatic tension.
The story is about gay, ultra-cool Andy -- ex-advertising guy who's made himself into a Manhattan artist legend -- fascinated by Edie's jaded spirit and making her famous for being famous and yet offering nothing solid except a momentary flash of hip notoriety. Taking, studying, gliding along, going with it...and never "there" as any kind of friend, supporter or colleague whatsoever.
Along comes heavycat "Danny" geninely liking Edie for who/what she was -- seeing value in her essence -- while tagging Andy as a kind of user-taker vampire poseur and trying to rescue Edie from her inevitable fate, which is to be cast aside for the next whatever. And yet realizing in the end that she's too damaged and off-balance to really stand on her own.
And then Warhol, who's come to resent Edie for pursuing a "Danny" relationship, throws her over for Nico (of the Velvet Underground), and Edie subsequently gets caught up in drugs and debauch, and ends up dead -- the old drug habits -- five years later.
Pearce's Warhol may be grossly simplified compared to the real McCoy, but he's trippy and absorbing in a darkly downtown sort of way. Half-comic and half demonic, he's one of the most obliquely cool screen villains I've ever spent time with -- no exaggeration. His malice and selfishness is cloaked in a kind of hip vacancy (i.e., the standard "oh, wow" Warhol of legend, which wasn't who the guy really was), but there's obviously something cold and almost monsterish about him -- a guy so damaged and ruthless that he's forgotten where he put whatever vestiges of common humanity he may have once had.
I believed Factory Girl's atmospheric details; it seemed right to me in all kinds of ways. But I had minor problem with costar Jimmy Fallon's hair, which goes from dark brown to light brown-orange in a single early cut. Abrupt hair shifts are never good for anyone in any realm! Harvey Weinstein should spend an extra $30,000 to give Fallon a CGI hair fix.
Edie Sedgwick may not have even slept with Bob Dylan, much less had a raging love affair with him....but "Danny's" entry into the film does two things: it provides a semi-decent dramatic structure-conflict, and it allows Christensen to deliver the first better-than-decent performance of his life.
I've disliked each and every Christensen performance I've seen prior to Factory Girl (he's the reason I can't bear to watch any portion of the last two Star Wars prequels) but he somehow finds a way into the Dylan attitude and voice, and seems more or less relaxed and centered in it. He has a near-great scene when he's posing for Warhol's 16mm camera inside the Factory while looking around and asking if "this is where you paint your cans of beans," and at the same time clearly implying that Warhol is a selfish prick. For the first time in his brief career, Christensen doesn't seem to be straining for emotional intensity.
The end credits use some talking-head comments from the late George Plympton and (I think) one of Sedgwick's brothers to moderately interesting effect, although it feels a wee bit tacked-on and superfluous.
Captain Mauzner's screenplay feels right when it comes to the attitude dialogue, and the supporting performances from Beth Grant (as Warhol's Polish mom), Armin Amiri, Mena Suvari and Illeana Douglas (as Diana Vreeland) are agreeable and bump-free. The only one that doesn't feel quite right is Edward Herrman's as a Sedgwick family lawyer -- his scenes seem sketchily written and too tidy.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 29, 2006 at 5:49 AM
comment #1
Arizona Joe
says ...
It's easy to see the appeal of this movie: the Warhol scene, the nutty alternative lifestyle of Edie & Suky Sedgwick, 60s music, etc. "Factory Girl" is a great title, nicked from the Rolling Stones' "Beggars Banquet." I wonder if they used that song's lyrics in the soundtrack, "waiting for a girl and she's got stains all down her dress."
Posted by Arizona Joe
at December 29, 2006 10:37 AM
comment #2
JWEgo
says ...
why picture George when you know he did not direct this movie? did he sell you some white stuff?
I am your ego!
Posted by JWEgo
at December 29, 2006 10:52 AM
comment #3
ZacharyTF
says ...
Jeff,
You said that Hayden Christensen delivers the first good performance of his career. What about his turn in Shattered Glass? That movie proved that he has acting chops; they just have to be harnessed by a good director.
Also, how were you able to see the rough cut in August?
Posted by ZacharyTF
at December 29, 2006 11:23 AM
comment #4
Dixon Steele
says ...
Speaking, indirectly, of the Weinstein Company, I see a small 2 inch ad in today's LA Times Calandar for their new Zach Braff/Amanda Peet comedy FAST TRACK.
What gives?
This can't be for Oscar consideration. And it's at the now-cruddy Beverly Center.
Making me ask...what the hell has happened to the Weinsteins?
Posted by Dixon Steele
at December 29, 2006 12:33 PM
comment #5
tholl-yung
says ...
Getting into the direct to video business, like everyone else.
Posted by tholl-yung
at December 29, 2006 12:55 PM
comment #6
tholl-yung
says ...
Ego, who directed? All you know is that it wasn't George? I'm okay with imaginary portraits, I'm very interested in seeing this. I loved the Nico Icon and Who Shot Andy Warhol, but have never seen Ciao, Manhattan. I think having a dog has kept me off drugs.
Posted by tholl-yung
at December 29, 2006 1:14 PM
comment #7
PhilContrino
says ...
The LA Times trashed it:
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-factory29dec29,0,4285279.story
But I trust Jeff...As a Dylan nut I thought I'd hate the idea of Hayden Christensen playing him but I was sold by the trailer. I'll take one person playing Dylan any day of the week over Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett.
Posted by PhilContrino
at December 29, 2006 1:22 PM
comment #8
GHickenlooper
says ...
Hickenlooper to JWEgo:
Hey asshole, I am in the process of tracking you down. When I find out who you are, and I will, I am going to file a nice fat defamation of character lawsuit against you. I have spoken to my attorneys and Bloom Hergott and your sinister, unrelenting proclamations of my alleged drug abuse and my having been removed from the picture, both blatantly false, malicious, and cruel, is grounds for a big fat, juicy lawsuit. You have seriously exposed yourself legally and you only better hope you don't have any assets, prick-face, because when my attorneys get through with you, you'll be pushing a mop at the La Brea Burger King. What I do know about you so far, as I piece the puzzle together, is that you are are possibly a producer with connections to my production. There are a few people who may be willing to come forward and expose you as you hide behind your lies like a coward. You have no idea or understanding that what you are saying is damaging to me and my family. Imagine your child reading these mean spirited lies on the internet. It is difficult enough to be in New York, killing myself on this movie, and being away from him for two months, and then to hear this bullshit that you write just is unconscionable. And you keep persisting which leads me to believe you have some personal animosity, jealousy or vendetta against me. So come forward and face me. Tell me who you are and why you're trying to destroy my character in such a sick manner. You say I'm off the picture. Didn't you read the New York Times on Sunday, you moron? You say I am off the picture as I spend twenty hour days with my devoted crew working around the clock to get this picture out. If there is anyone out there who would like to help me along with the identity of this coward, this JWEgo slug, I would be grateful. I have never worked harder in my life on a project and I don't appreciate false, malicious and mean-spirited accusations. I warn you JWEgo as I finish the final mix of Factory Girl... when I find out who you are, you will here from my lawyers. In fact as an incentive, I am offering anyone who provides me with the identity of JWEgo by this weekend, I will pay a reward of $1,500.00. Thank you. GH
Posted by GHickenlooper
at December 29, 2006 1:43 PM
comment #9
JWEgo
says ...
No need to find me Mr. Hickenlooper. I repeated a comment that I was told by someone who seemed to know. I apologize if I was wrong. I hereby state that I have no idea what I am talking about and IN NO WAY intended to upset you.
Posted by JWEgo
at December 29, 2006 2:40 PM
comment #10
lionsfan
says ...
Because of my part-time employment waaaayyy back when as a club doorman-floorman, I used to encounter the Warhol crowd rather frequently. And with regard to ALL, Edie Sedgwick included, I used to wonder what on earth any of these people contributed to society. Still, they were arrogant, rude and, generally, very stoned. "Snotty" comes to mind as a useful descriptive term.
Then there was a party I attended as a journalist a few years later, a kind of pre-party for a Vitas Gerulaitis fundraiser. The Warhol crowd, including Edie, was among wealthier, less freaky people, but didn't curb their own behavior one bit. Warmth wasn't their strong point.
Many years later, for an article on sort of regional archaeology, I literally stumbled over Edie Sedgwick's gravestone in a rural cemetery outside of Amherst, MA, off the Daniel Shays Highway. The grave was untended and covered by vines and weeds. Fame is fleeting, no? As it turns out, so is snottiness. And I wondered on that gray late November Saturday if any of Andy's old crowd had ever visited Edie Sedgwick's grave, however inadvertently. I very much doubt it.
Posted by lionsfan
at December 29, 2006 2:50 PM
comment #11
GHickenlooper
says ...
JWEgo: You still have not told me who you are. And tell me who told you this? I am not going to drop this matter. I have already had two separate people identify you for me. You do not have a lot of fans apparently. This is disappointing to me because if you are who these people say you are, I thought we were friends. I admire your work and we even discussed working together. So if it is you, why would you post these viscious, false and puerile diatribes. You better come forward with me on this, because I will pursue this unrelentingly, not so much because it has hurt me, but because it has hurt my five-year-old.
Posted by GHickenlooper
at December 29, 2006 3:01 PM
comment #12
JWEgo
says ...
I do not know you. I apologized if I was wrong. Are you going to pursue Page Six as well?
Posted by JWEgo
at December 29, 2006 3:04 PM
comment #13
bipedalist
says ...
Mr. Hickenblooper, please don't take what blowhards on the internet say, especially JWEgo. No one pays any attention to what he says. It is really easy to sit quietly behind a keyboard in one's sad space and hurl accusations and insults - all too easy to slip into cruelty. Brings out the best and worst in us, this old medium. I wouldn't fret this guy, though. LOl.
Posted by bipedalist
at December 29, 2006 3:23 PM
comment #14
Kristopher Tapley
says ...
Fight! Fight!
Posted by Kristopher Tapley
at December 29, 2006 5:43 PM
comment #15
GML
says ...
Jeff, that review was a pure pleasure to read and a relief. I've been looking forward to seeing the movie and will have to wait til February for a wide release.
I wish I could see both versions you saw.
Posted by GML
at December 29, 2006 6:20 PM
comment #16
MASON
says ...
JWEgo is Don Murphy? Say it isn't so, Don.
Posted by MASON
at December 29, 2006 6:22 PM
comment #17
bipedalist
says ...
Sorry, Hickenlooper. Not Hickenblooper. :-|
Posted by bipedalist
at December 29, 2006 6:49 PM
comment #18
Ian Sinclair
says ...
Could have been worse, Bip. You might have called him Hickenpooper.
Posted by Ian Sinclair
at December 29, 2006 7:19 PM
comment #19
nyctohollywood
says ...
I fully support Hickenlooper here. To suggest he has been removed from a film does harm to not only the film itself but to his career. And add to that drug innuendos? Whoever this person is should have to face their punishment and not think they can anonymously post unsupported trash.
I, for one, look forward to this film.
Posted by nyctohollywood
at December 29, 2006 7:28 PM
comment #20
Dixon Steele
says ...
Go, George, go!
If I knew JWEgo's ID, I'd give it to you for free.
I especially liked his chicken-shit apology ("No need to find me Mr Hickenlooper"). Hah!
Looks like JWEgo's gonna need a lawyer...
Posted by Dixon Steele
at December 29, 2006 7:41 PM
comment #21
EDouglas
says ...
"Looks like JWEgo's gonna need a lawyer..."
I assume he'll be the one ending his posts with "I am JWEgo's Lawyer."
Posted by EDouglas
at December 29, 2006 8:28 PM
comment #22
dobbsy
says ...
Excitement from the libel firefight aside, the movie is pretty damn good. Clearly better than many so called award season films.
So here's a question for the experts: how did this picture get lost (in editing? or?) during awards season? Which critics groups awards orgs got to see the film in time to vote?
I agree with Jeff, Sienna Miller is really inside that character and communicates a complicated troubled bright person brilliantly. But have they tripped up in the last few months and missed the awards season boat? I hope not.
And I can't wait to read the next chapter of Hollywood Law here at Hollywood Elsewhere!
Posted by dobbsy
at December 29, 2006 11:14 PM
comment #23
dobbsy
says ...
Oops, forgot to mention...Guy Pearce is terrific as well. Andy as brilliant, Catholic, creative, insecure, loving, jealous, ambitious, petty, defensive/defenseless, tough, cagey, hyper-aware...hits all the shades and nuances of a very complicated, yet iconic figure.
Posted by dobbsy
at December 30, 2006 12:49 AM
comment #24
Josh Massey
says ...
Who can I sue for seeing Hayden Christensen and Jimmy Fallon in the same film?
Posted by Josh Massey
at December 30, 2006 5:55 AM
comment #25
KamikazeCamelV2.0
says ...
Oh Spam Dooley. Wonders never cease.
Posted by KamikazeCamelV2.0
at December 30, 2006 11:23 PM
comment #26
horus8
says ...
C'mon, Mister Hickenlooper's shrill self-righteous attack on this poor (and I suspect deceptively meek) JWEgo dude is genuinely funny. What cracks me up the most is the fact that hapless George really believes "his lawyers" at Bloom Hergott are working for a litigation firm! Goodness, Jake Bloom and Alan Hergott (or anyone at that posh Rodeo Drive lawoffice) doing two-bit litigation, now that would truly be a sight to see. It's cute that George has gotten such a testosterone rush out of all this - he believes he could actually afford litigation at today's astronomical rates - especially in light of the whiny lament posted June 16 2006 on his film's imdb message board, to wit: "Everyone who worked on Factory Girl worked for scale wages. In fact I had to put a large portion of my salary back into the movie just to get it made..." For sure, whatever spare change George has left after child-support goes to cover his wine tab at the Gramercy Rose Bar (not cheap) and maintaining standard Los Angeles auteur gear (leather blazer, oversized plastic frames, goatee). Might be a real hardship for a struggling auteur like George Hickenlooper to cover a decent litigator's $400/hr fee times a minimum hundred hours of legal work (plus deposition and other costs) before ever arriving at the satisfaction (and possible stunning disappointment) of a motion for summary judgment, maybe a year or so down the line. And that could just be the beginning. Litigation is a lifestyle reserved strictly for the very rich and very powerful. Whether they have a case or not.
Posted by horus8
at January 1, 2007 9:02 AM
comment #27
juju
says ...
I hope it has been retooled from the trailer -
the girl that plays edie's accent is totally off.
the guys seem good though -
i will go see it but i think that girl Sucks as Edie
Posted by juju
at January 1, 2007 1:01 PM
comment #28
juju
says ...
I hope it has been retooled from the trailer -
the girl that plays edie's accent is totally off.
the guys seem good though -
i will go see it but i think that girl Sucks as Edie
Posted by juju
at January 1, 2007 1:02 PM
comment #29
juju
says ...
I hope it has been retooled from the trailer -
the girl that plays edie's accent is totally off.
the guys seem good though -
i will go see it but i think that girl Sucks as Edie
Posted by juju
at January 1, 2007 1:03 PM
comment #30
beauty no. 2
says ...
To Mr. Szathmary,
When did they move Edie's grave to Amherst? Last time I was at Edie's grave it was in Santa Barbara, California near where she grew up and had been there since she died. Very well kempt... no vines and very well maintained.
Posted by beauty no. 2
at January 2, 2007 7:18 AM
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