UK Release: 16th March 2007
Watched on DVD: Monday 18th April 2011
Rating: 15
Runtime: 2hrs
IMDb Plot Summary: In 1958, in New York City, the upper class Diane Arbus is a frustrated and lonely woman with a conventional marriage with two daughters. Her husband is a photographer sponsored by the wealthy parents of Diane, and she works as his assistant. When Lionel Sweeney, a mysterious man with hypertrichosis (a.k.a. werewolf syndrome, a disease that causes excessive body hair), comes to live in the apartment in the upper floor, Diane feels a great attraction for him and is introduced to the world of freaks and marginalized people, falling in love with Lionel.
My Review: This is one of the strangest films I’ve ever seen.
Once again I wasn’t the one choosing the film (I went to a friend’s DVD party) and once again I startled by what I saw. The film started disconcertingly, as Diane (played by the flawless Nicole Kidman) visited a naturist community. The film then went back three months later to find out how she got there. As I didn’t know anything about the film, it felt almost like a thriller to begin with and it was hard to understand exactly what was going on. The film only really began when the masterful Robert Downey Jr entered.
The film slowly grew into a odd but charming story about Diane and Lionel who has a peculiar condition were he has a large amount of body hair effectively masking him for the majority of the film. There is a strange chemistry between them; unsettling but captivating
What stood out when watching it was how, even at night everything was lit very bright, almost washed out. I don’t know if it was meant to be some sort of arty metaphor, but it was interestingly shot anyway.
Overall the film was weirdly enjoyable. It is one of of those quiet, slow films but it didn’t drag and somehow works. It is basically a character study, which succeeds because the acting is quite superb. It is worth watching, at least, for that.
Score: 6/10
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