Despite the instructions at the start of the movie, this should definitely NOT be played at maximum volume. It is interesting only for a few vague references to the actual history of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Brian Eno. Ewen McGregor is cool for about 30 seconds as he does an impression of Iggy (Curt Wild) on stage. The other guy playing Bowie/Brian is simply awful. The film follows a flashback/flash forward then and now history, through the eyes of a journalist who was there, and has been assigned to write a retrospective. His character is poorly developed. Mostly he stands around in concerts and looks bewildered. This is supposed to represent his sexual identity crisis. The pacing is terrible, the lip syncing is terrible, the set pieces are terrible, the story is terrible the acting is terrible. Oh yeah there is a stupid reference to Oscar Wilde. I think the movie also tries to criticize Bowie's music and image in the 80s, but does so in a completely obtuse manner. If you want to see great androgynous costumes, and hear great glitter rock, you are much better off renting the Bowie concert flick "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars." Velvet Goldmine is another great idea turned in to a bad movie.
Review of Velvet Goldmine
