Hope you all had a great Labor Day. As I write this, cold rains stream down my window. This grand harbinger of Autumn is a far cry from the canals in Italy, which were a balmy 84 degrees. The Lido was a bit spare at the Venice Film Festival due to the Actorsâ and Writersâ Strike. However, some films managed to break through. New features premiered by Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and the final film by William Friedkin made their debuts. Netflix made a big splash due to a lack of big studio presence. Both Bradley Cooperâs Maestro and David Fincherâs The Killer lead the way; both of which I plan to look into later this year.
In the end the main prize, the Golden Lion, went to Yorgos Lanthimosâs Poor Things starring Emma Stone. Best Actress went to Cailee Spaeny for playing Priscilla Presley. The screenplay winner I will leave for next time. Lately, this fest has been called the first rumblings of Oscar season, most like to prognosticate. Not all have been bestowed that illustrious distinction.
Last yearâs winner is now on Max (formally HBO Max). The prescription drug crisis has been a hot topic of late. All The Beauty and The Bloodshed documents the opioid scandal through a rather peculiar lens. My first encounters with subject Nan Goldin were in college, admiring her photographs and later buying a large polio that I still have in my library. The beguiling way she presents her subject matter drew me in.
We learn about her childhood in the Boston suburbs and her older sisterâs tragic life. How Nan got through that and her budding interest in photography make up the bulk of the first half. Interspersed however, is present day Nan getting over OxyContin addiction after wrist surgery. After going through rehab, she started an activist group that sought to take the Sackler name off galleries. Her fellow protestors urged museums to refuse money from them. An old school David and Goliath story ensues, one that filmmaker Laura Poitras knows all too well covering Edward Snowden in Citizenfour. Where you fall on the political spectrum may indicate your interest in these. My fascination was on Nan herself. I had read her Artforum article that sounded the alarm on Sacklerâs money in the art world. And Goldinâs life story makes a great addition to her recent demonstrations of agitprop.
After that wonderful documentary, I scrolled through more on MAX. Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed peaked my interest. I remember watching Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back on TCM in my youth. Later watching his work with Douglas Sirk and the thriller Seconds gave me a great appreciation for him. The film plays as your standard true life celebrity flick, uncovering the life beneath the facade. But the life you find is one that was split in two; there is Rock Hudson the star and Rock the closeted man. Everyone now knows that Hudson was gay and later ended up contracting HIV. In the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, it was a shock to hear that such a prominent figure had it. But we are not given a purely sad story here. His choice to be honest and brave changed the course of treatment and research.
Director Stephen Kijak does a great job finding great interviewees, dropping small anecdotes on his life outside the camera flash. Piper Laurie and Linda Evans were both enlightening but was his male friends who gave the most candid details. Our time spent with author Armistead Maupin made for fine amusement. Kijak used footage from Hudsonâs films and cutting them up so that he is playing against male co-stars, making them love interests. An inspired choice, it seems lifted from Mark Rappaportâs own work Rock Hudsonâs Home Movies. All and all, these both made for a great afternoon viewing. Letâs take another stroll through Venice next time, dear readers.
