Factory Girl is about Edie Sedgwick Andy Warhol’s first “superstar” creation and a very confused, abused, poor little rich girl. The film is also a bit confused and abused. It starts off with Edie talking to her shrink and then it fades into her life, from her cheery college days and then into the decent of the glamour and gloom that engulfs her in New York City, which closely mirrors her unhappy childhood amongst her wealthy, monstrous family.
Yes it is a bit of a poor little rich girl tale, and, you do feel sorry for her, but you can’t help wanting to smack her upside the head at times as well and tell her to get into rehab and quit using her past as an excuse to ruin her future. Which, I’m guessing her real life friends often wanted to do as well. Sienna Miller plays Sedgwick quite well, she is the charismatic girl, and cute and fashionable, not much of a stretch for Miller, the performance was good but it doesn’t really make you fall in love. The handsome Hayden Christensen who plays the “not Bob Dylan” character does a strong job (to all of the Star Wars haters, this guy can act when given proper direction) and, for the record Dylan does not look responsible for Sedgwick’s death at all in this movie.
Edie Sedgwick death appears completely linked with her troubled past, drug problems and if anyone’s actions contributed it would have to be Warhol’s abandonment. Dylan is one of the few people who seemed to stick up for her, who saw how Warhol was exploiting her. Andy Warhol was played very well by an almost unrecognizable Guy Pearce. His is definitely the stand out performance, you see a pockmarked, neurotic, jealous man and you can’t help but want to see more of his story than this movie gives.
On a whole this film is missing something, there are key scenes that are lacking. The ending is very disappointing, there are the terrible paragraphs that tell us what happen instead of showing us, a big let down in a movie that seemed to be all about this one event, and then we have to read about it instead of seeing it.
Factory Girl does have some good moments though, the parties, the good times between Sedgwick and Warhol seems like the kind of fun and narcissistic ecstasy that can only happen between two extreme people, the fashion is great and the sex scene with Miller and Christensen is…pretty much worth the bad in the film (Sienna Miller should be wearing britches she rides so well). But all in all this is just not a satisfying watch, it’s like a salad without the dressing, too wet and not enough taste.
I give this movie a 6 out of ten. For a no, go or routh I say go and rent it when you want to see a good sex scene, and a fashion show.
