Factory Girl

By: Art

Director: George Hickenlooper
Cast: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

In true biopic form, Factory Girl follows the rise and inevitable fall of the 1960s ‘it’ girl Edie Sedgwick - socialite, heiress, the first model slash actress and most notably, the one-time muse of one of the 20th Century’s most iconic artists, Andy Warhol.

Sienna Miller fittingly plays Edie. Miller, like Edie, is primarily known for her image and her relationships, rather than her work. And for those who haven’t been paying attention to the trash mags that you pretend not to devour in the doctor’s waiting room, Sienna’s fame derives from her on-off relationship with Jude Law and her divine Edie-esque mod wardrobe.

An ‘old money’ beauty, Edie rebelled against the cucumber sandwiches society by joining Andy Warhol’s famous factory, a group of artists living together and making evasive new wave films. Edie was the epitome of the poor little rich girl (so much so Warhol made a movie about it!)

Told largely through flashbacks spoken by Edie in rehab, the film explores Edie’s relationship with Warhol, her family (who really don’t seem like the nicest bunch of individuals) and eventually ‘Musician’ or as I prefer to call him, "Not Bob" (a character which basically is Bob Dylan apart from the minor detail that they never mention his name).

Miller does a fairly credible job as Edie, revelling in her neurosis. Guy Pearce’s Warhol becomes the almost villain of the piece - an ugly, vapid man obsessed with beauty and surfaces. Curiously, despite the real Bob Dylan attempting to place an injunction over the film’s release due to a fear of defamation (perhaps trying to save us all), "Not Bob" (Hayden Christensen) is the only character with any sense of humanity, encouraging Edie to see the world beyond the encompassing insanity of the factory.

Despite being a film about a great artist, the film is shot without any flair and sticks to the movie of the week biopic formula, despite having such an intriguing subject.

Edie’s portrayed as the perpetual victim, a role you can’t help but wonder if it’s just history that’s allocated it to her and whether there was more to this woman who Dylan described in song as being someone who ‘breaks just like a little girl’. Miller tries her best, but sadly the movie ends up like a Warhol soup can, all surface but with no real substance.

Verbatim:
Edie Sedgwick: “I went to a party once, and there was a palm reader there and when she looked at my hand, she just froze. And I said to her "I know. My lifeline is broken. I know I won't live past thirty.”

In a word: Lacklustre