Entertainment Glut
Back in the 70s Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) was just a teenager who was heavily in to glam rock star Brain Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Slade's love of make up, glittery outfits and sexual experimentation had a huge impact on Arthur who whilst struggling with his own sexuality found confidence in Slade's songs. But then came Slade's fall from grace when he faked his murder and after being called out as a hoax vanished from sight. A decade later and working for an American paper Arthur finds himself having to revisit the past when he is given assignment of find out what happened to Slade after the fake murder.
Perhaps those who were teens and twenty some things during the 70s really get a buzz out of "Velvet Goldmine" as this movie is clearly inspired by real artists such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Perhaps those who experience glam rock back in its heyday are unable to endure this as whilst clearly inspired by real artists ends up a pale imitation when it comes to the music in this movie which frankly features some terribly unsubtle lyrics.
For me personally I was only born in 72 and this period of music passed before I could really notice it and as such whilst "Velvet Goldmine" certainly has a look it did little to entertain me. The reason being is that narrative wise "Velvet Goldmine" is a bit experimental and it takes away from the story which sees Arthur chatting to those who played a part in Slade's life as he tries to find out what happened whilst we also learn about Arthur's younger days of coming to terms with his own sexuality. It makes it a movie which grabs you in spurts but never keeping you engaged the whole time due to those artistic scenes which just drag the movie out.
What this all boils down to is that "Velvet Goldmine" didn't entertain men and at over 2 hours I would say maybe a quarter of it at most really kept me interested. But for those who enjoy movies with a more artistic bint may get something from it.
