Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
McQueen (2018) is a visually arresting documentary that benefits enormously from its subject matter — the runway footage and archival material of Alexander McQueen's collections are breathtaking, elevating the cinematography well above average. The film is structured around the major collections of his career, giving it a clear narrative arc that works reasonably well, though it occasionally feels episodic rather than deeply analytical. Interviews with collaborators and family provide genuine emotional weight but don't always probe beyond the surface mythology. As a documentary subject McQueen is inherently fascinating, but the film hews fairly close to the standard biographical documentary format, keeping Novelty in check. The ending, dealing with his tragic suicide, is handled with sensitivity but lands with a heaviness that feels somewhat inevitable given the framing throughout.