Factory Girl (DVD)

Very moving film about American heiress and Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick who died of a heroin overdose in the early seventies at the age of 28. Sienna Miller is excellent as the heroine, displaying real acting talent. The film focuses on her relationship with the superficial world of Warhol's factory and her affair with 'Quinn' a charismatic, Dylan-like folksinger. Warhol made her a star but ultimately simply used her: When her beauty fades, so does his interest in the 'Queen of the Underground'. Essentially he considers as nothing but flesh (to use the title of one of his movies) To corrupt one's beauty is a cardinal sin in the bible according to Warhol; he never asks why or offers any help. 'Quinn' represents the more real world of folk music (we are talking early- to mid-sixties here). Torn between the two worlds, and less and less able to function, she flees more and more into the oblivion and comfort heroin offers. At the end she felt double-crossed by both men: she finds out about 'Quinn's' marriage in the papers, cruelly put to her by Warhol who seems to take a certain pleasure in her humiliation. She feels betrayed by Warhol's rejection: with her beauty ravaged and her funds depleted, he replaces her with another less self-destructive and less complicated blonde. Parading her in front of Edie, her already cracked self-esteem crumbles even further. Abandoned by Warhol's factory and with no hope of getting her relationship with 'Quinn' back on track, she has nowhere to go but home to her family and her very dominant father who supposedly abused her sexually at a very young age. Like all the other men in her life, he is incapable to look behind the facade, seeing in her no more than damaged goods and has her committed to a mental asylum. Shortly after her being let out into the real world, she takes a fatal overdose. Warhol's comment when confronted with her tragic death was typical for him and the factory world: 'It is easier to remain detached'.

There is also a running comment by Edie (Sienna Miller in a black wig) from beyond the grave, giving her take on her life and untimely death and also filling in some gaps in her life-story. It would have been interesting to see more about her background, her wealthy but highly dysfunctional family - maybe the Sedgwick estate refused access, maybe the director wanted to focus on the short time span where her life shone brighter like the brightest shooting star you can imagine - and burning out just as fast.

It is worth watching the 'special features', a commentary provided by people who knew Edie when she was the world's first 'It-girl'. They add a more personal touch and depth the film is sometimes lacking (and that's my only criticism of this otherwise very interesting portraet of not only Edie but the whole era). Highly recommended.