Transgender pioneer Candy Darling—who came to fame in Andy Warhol's experimental films in the late '60s and early '70s and was the source for Lou Reed's rock-n-roll classic "Walk on the Wild Side"—is the fascinating subject of Beautiful Darling, from filmmaker James Rasin (who hails from suburban Hinsdale). Rasin's movie, which debuted last fall at the Chicago International Film Festival, went on to win the fest's best documentary prize. It's getting a belated theatrical feature release in Chicago, at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, on Friday, July 15.
The gorgeous, blond Darling—with her whispery, baby voice and ultra-feminine gestures (whose look was inspired by Kim Novak, who we see in vintage clips)—worked hard to keep her star aloft once she found fame as one of Warhol's self-proclaimed "superstars" after years of trying to make it big in Manhattan. Starring roles in Warhol's Flesh and Women in Revolt led to Darling's being cast in a revival of Tennessee Williams' play "Small Craft Warnings." (One particularly interesting clip shows Williams and Darling bantering backstage during the production.)
However, the role didn't lead to Hollywood and mainstream success, Darling's true ambition. Mounting career disappointments led to personal devastation when she was diagnosed with leukemia, which would take her life in 1974. Darling, who we are told by friends and fellow performers lived full-time in her film-goddess persona, never gave in to despair and even insisted photographer Peter Hujar take pictures of her on her deathbed.
Rasin tracks the meteoric rise and death of Darling with the help of James Newton, her longtime friend and one-time roommate. Darling's mother gave Newton access to Darling's personal belongings after her death, and Rasin makes good use of Newton's cache. The resulting film—which mixes the priceless memorabilia (including rare footage of Candy in performance, hanging out with Warhol, Dennis Hopper, and Jane Fonda, etc.); diary excerpts read by Chloe Sevigny; and new interviews with Holly Woodlawn, John Waters and other friends of the performer—is an expressive portrait of the young man from Long Island once known as James Slattery who left a singular legacy as Candy Darling, the self-made creation.
Beautiful Darling is also a moving tribute to the close friendship of Darling and Newton, whose memories of that friendship are poignant, sharp and funny. (The film is bookended with footage of Newton arranging for a final burial place for both Candy's ashes and his mother's.) www.siskelfilmcenter.org
(Note: Brief portions of this review appeared in my interview with director James Raisin in an earlier issue of Windy City Times.)
Of related interest:
The Siskel is also screening Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese's delightfully entertaining portrait of Manhattan-based writer and ranconteur Fran Lebowitz (who also appears in Beautiful Darling).
Scorsese follows the openly gay Lebowitz around her usual haunts as she pontificates on a number of topics, offering her hilarious, cogent, acidic opinions on everything from AIDS to smoker's rights. In her Saville Row-tailored suits; spouting out her razor-sharp insights; and bristling with impatience when encountering stupidity and vapidity, Lebowitz embodies a "butch Dorothy Parker," the apt description the Village Voice's Melissa Anderson gave to her. Originally broadcast on HBO, this is the film's Chicago theatrical premiere.
Joyce McKinney, the subject of Tabloid, fits neatly into documentarian Errol Morris' usual cinematic gallery of wildly eccentric characters. Back in the mid-'70s, McKinney, a former beauty-contest winner, met and fell head over heels for a devout Mormon. When the man inexplicably disappeared, McKinney and friends, after tracking him down in England, kidnapped him and held him hostage at a remote location. There, McKinney removed the man's "magic underwear" and had sex with him multiple times.
Later, the man had McKinney arrested and—after a sensational trial which made the comely blond a tabloid sensation in London—she fled the country with a male companion. (This happened after the supposedly virginal McKinney was exposed in the media as a part-time prostitute with experience as a dominatrix.) Decades later, McKinney gleefully relishes her time on camera as she relates her story and its aftermath (which includes dog-cloning and more). Entertaining but decidedly thinner than previous Morris films, Tabloid is nevertheless worth checking out for those with a taste for the offbeat. The on-camera participants include Utah-based gay activist Troy Williams, who is presented as an expert on Mormonism and whose rituals he explains in a winning, tongue-in-cheek manner.
Film notes:
—At the height of his ambisexual, glitter rock fame in 1976, David Bowie made his film debut starring as the ultimate outsider in director Nicholas Roeg's fascinating (but rather somnambulant) science-fiction cult favorite The Man Who Fell To Earth. Bowie portrays an alien who visits Earth to save his drought-stricken planet but finds himself corrupted by our superficial culture and lust for filthy lucre instead. This 35th-anniversary edition, opening—at the Music Box, 3717 N. Southport, on Friday, July 15—reinstates 20 minutes cut from the original U.S. release. www.musicboxtheatre.com
—Sister Mary is a gay themed horror comedy with music shot in Chicago in 2009 that stars long time community fave Judy Tenuta as a suspected serial killing nun, out comedians Ant, Bruce Vilanch, porn star twink Paul Corrigan, and local fave drag performer Miss Foozie. The film, from writer-director Scott Grenke is having its world premiere on Saturday, July 16 at the Arcadia Theatre (105 E. Main) in St. Charles at 7pm. Cast and crew members will be on hand for the screening and will attend an after party (separate admission ticket required) at the Chord on Blues (106 S. Riverside) also in St. Charles. Advance tickets available at www.oshows.com
—DVD release of note: Insidious—starring hottie Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and character actress Lin Shaye (remember how great she was in Hate Crime?)—is one of the year's most frightening films. Borrowing liberally from Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, The Amityville Horror and a host of other fright flicks, this low budget little chiller nevertheless offers plenty of fresh crawling thrills for discerning fans of the horror genre and was a big hit in theatres. The DVD doesn't offer any deleted scenes but has some interesting behind the scenes featurettes that are worth exploring.
—A certain little multimillion (or is it multibillion)-dollar cinematic franchise about a boy wizard and his compatriots battling evil is finally coming to an end. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, starring the gay-friendly Daniel Radcliffe and company, is now in theatres. However, t the press screening happened after Windy City Times press deadline so you'll have to wait until next week to read my review.
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitymediagroup.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter website.
