Factory Girl

last updated 8 January 2015

In the 1960s, Andy Warhol presided over a glamorous court of artists, musicians, and models, said Dana Stevens in Slate.com. Edie Sedgwick was its queen. The waifish socialite rose to pop-cultural stardom as a 'œMarilyn Monroe'“like projection screen for the desires and fantasies of others,' but heavy drug use led to her death by overdose at 28. Her life would seem to supply more than enough material for a fascinating film. But, despite strong performances and high production values, Factory Girl suffers fatally from a listless script with all the complexity of an after-school special. Director George Hickenlooper portrays the glittering 1960s art scene 'œas high school with more flamboyant clothes and hair and stronger drugs,' said Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times. Edie's the popular girl caught between two admirers, Guy Pearce's Andy and a Bob Dylan'“esque musician played by Hayden Christensen. Both men deliver bravura performances but are 'œcrushed by the sheer iconographic weight of their characters.' Such larger-than-life impersonations ring false, like everything else about the movie. Everything except for Sienna Miller's 'œintense, deeply committed portrayal' of Edie herself, said Gene Seymour in Newsday. Miller nails Sedgwick's mannerisms, speech, and flitty, flirty style. She certainly can't solve all the problems in this baggy biopic, 'œbut it sure is fun watching her try.'

Rating: R