- Beautiful Darling - Las Vegas Weekly

Cinevegas

Beautiful Darling

Fri, Jun 12, 2009 (12:24 p.m.)

Beautiful Darling.

Courtesy

The latest offering in the Andy Warhol-related documentary realm—a glimpse into the short life and fragile mind of the transsexual actress Candy Darling—remains a work in progress. Unfortunately time code, music and voice-over work won’t much improve an ultimately vague glimpse, despite the original films, photos, press clippings, letters and journal entries impressively assembled.

Beautiful Darling

Directed by James Rasin; Screens June 12 at 6:30 pm.; Beautiful Darling
More CineVegas: Complete coverage of CineVegas 2009; Film reviews

Darling is gritty and original and, like its subject, “has an aura.” But it maintains distance and even pokes fun at the core dreamers; there’s no real, deep conveyance of the pain and projected pleasure that fueled the lifelong casting of James Slattery in a starlet’s role. By mid-film, Slattery/Darling’s story has ceded the spotlight to the relationship between Darling and part-time servant/full-time friend Jeremiah Newton. Darling begins with, returns to and ends with Newton’s journey to bury his confidant’s remains, and it is his voice that dominates the flock of talking heads including journalists and such Warhol peripheries as George Abagnalo, Paul Morrissey, Holly Woodlawn, Gerard Malanga and, chillingly, Warhol shooter Valerie Solanas. Even as the perspective tilts unevenly, there’s no true danger of becoming weighed down. Darling drifts away with the fleeting fame that birthed it, ephemeral and eventually existing only in others’ memories.

Comment on This Share This Print This

2 Comments So Far

It has always been a tacit understanding with reviewers that a film that is in the rough and not completed yet, should not be reviewed. Yet this "critic" decides to do what she wants to do, and trash our unfinished documentary. You get a "Shame on You!" award for not being ethical. Jeremiah Newton, producer, BEAUTIFUL DARLING

Posted by: Jeremiah_Newton on 6/16/09 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The very first sentence of the review notes that the movie is a work in progress, and the next sentence describes the elements that are still unfinished, so it's not like we are being disingenuous about the movie's status. Furthermore, this is a mixed review that is far from "trashing" the movie.

We've reviewed works in progress at CineVegas in the past; if you're putting your movie out for public consumption at an event attended by loads of journalists, I think you have to be prepared for people to write about it. If you don't want the movie seen and discussed, then don't show it until you're ready.

Posted by: joshb on 6/16/09 at 4:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)