Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
Velvet Goldmine is a visually sumptuous, kaleidoscopic ode to glam rock that earns high marks for its distinctive aesthetic — Todd Haynes channels Citizen Kane's structure and Oscar Wilde's sensibility into something genuinely singular. The cinematography is lush and inventive, awash in glitter, costume, and bold color choices that feel wholly of a piece. The film's conception and voice are unmistakably its own — its bisexual, mythologizing take on Bowie/Iggy-adjacent figures is unlike anything else in the music biopic space, earning strong Novelty. Acting is solid but uneven — Ewan McGregor commits fully while Jonathan Rhys Meyers is more enigmatic than substantial. The plot's Citizen Kane-esque structure is ambitious but somewhat diffuse, never quite coalescing into the emotional payoff it reaches for, and the ending lands with a whimper rather than a revelation, leaving the central mystery feeling unresolved in an unsatisfying rather than provocative way.