VELVET GOLDMINE (1998)

Playing as part of our Spotlight on Todd Haynes, director of the acclaimed new film MAY DECEMBER releasing February 15th at Academy!

Drawing its title from a David Bowie song, writer-director Todd Haynes’ feverish mash-up of glam rock and CITIZEN KANE follows a journalist (Christian Bale) on the trail of an enigmatic U.K. musician (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and the American performer who influenced him (Ewan McGregor). With a soundtrack packed with vintage and new recordings and Sandy Powell’s Oscar-nominated costume design, this cult favourite is a feast for the senses.

Todd Haynes’s second discourse on celebrity culture (after SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY) was as sprawling and multi-tracked as Haynes’s SAFE had been clinically restrained. Working with a stellar cast (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Eddie Izzard, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale) and a staggering roster of musicians, including members of Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Roxy Music, and The Stooges, Haynes crafted one of the most thrilling music movies of the ’90s.