Diana Vreeland (FILM REVIEW)
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to
Travel
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Reverential Retrospective Takes Fond Look at
Life of Legendary Fashion Icon
Diana
Vreeland (1903-1989) was lucky enough to enjoy not just a second, but a third
act in the public eye. First, the legendary fashion icon had a profound impact
on American culture as the fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar.
Then,
when she was passed over for a promotion after a quarter-century with the
magazine, Vreeland resigned in 1962 to become editor-in-chief of Vogue, a
position she held for close to a decade. And finally, in 1971, she began serving
as costume consultant to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.
Co-directed
by granddaughter-in-law Lisa Immordino Vreeland with Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and
Frederic Tcheng, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to
Travel is a reverential retrospective which takes an intimate,
intriguing and revealing look at a most-fascinating life. For, over the course
of her career, the influential Empress of Fashion undeniably ignited
innumerable popular trends while simultaneously celebrating the unconventional
features of celebrities like Twiggy, Cher and
Barbra Streisand.
Vreeland’s
unorthodox approach was to magnify, rather than hide a subject’s supposed
flaws, such as when she had photographer Richard Avedon shoot Streisand’s proud
nose in profile. This appreciation ostensibly emanated from her having been
treated as the ugly duckling by a mother who was not above flirting with her
boyfriends.
A
socialite who hung out in Harlem, Diana did eventually
land a loyal life mate in Thomas Vreeland, and the two went on to wed and enjoy
an enduring union blessed by the births of two sons. Despite being an
intimidating taskmaster at the office, Vreeland is nonetheless remembered just as
much for her creativity by former employees like the aforementioned Avedon as
well as actress Ali McGraw who landed her first job out of college with the
demanding doyenne.
This
enlightening documentary paints an indelible picture of a daring visionary who
fervently felt that, “You’re not supposed to give people what they want, but
what they don’t yet know they want.” That helps explain how towards the end of
her life Diana announced, “I shall die young, even at 90.”
A
poignant portrait of an inveterate iconoclast who couldn’t help but push the
envelope.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for nude
images.
In English, French
and Italian with subtitles
Running time: 86 minutes
Distributor: Samuel
Goldwyn Films
To see a trailer for Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel,
visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment