KDJ reviewed this movie back in October (here: http://hashingoutmovies.
As its title suggests, the movie follows the editors of Vogue through the creation of its September Issue, which is like the beginning of the year in fashion. It's always the largest issue in terms of paper, and this specific one is the largest magazine ever created. No pressure, right? At the center of the film is Anna Wintour, a difficult woman who fits her surname so well she could easily be a character in an Austen novel. She's basically a super-bitch: very demanding, hard to work for/with, merciless. She decides what flies in fashion, even advising noted designers like Oscar de la Renta on what they should put in their shows.
Yes, she dictates. All the time. And she always gets her way.
Opposite her is a woman named Grace Coddington, Vogue's Creative Director. (Interestingly, both women are British and together run American Vogue--I found this mildly offensive). They are certainly equals in abilities, and they often clash. But the difference between Grace and Anna--and I think, the reason I like Grace better--is that Anna never concedes. Grace must bow out sometimes (though once or twice in the film she makes a call behind Anna's back to hold on to an artistic principle).
I would say the film is just as much about Grace as it is about Anna, but only because Anna is so cold and stoic. Grace opens up and shares her feelings. Anna only lets us in at the end of the movie when she's being interviewed directly, sitting in a chair in a set up kind of environment. Kyle referenced the moment when she's talking about how her brothers and sisters all do 'beneficial' things like edit newspapers or work for NGOs, and how none of them respect what she does. This, despite the fact that she is the author, almost like God, of the fashion world.
When asked what her greatest strength is, she says decisiveness. She says her greatest weakness is her children. I don't know if by that means she wished she didn't have them, or if she realized she was never available to them physically/emotionally/etc. Regardless, while I want to judge her really hard for being a bitch to her family, designers, and the people she works with, you get the sense that for her genius to come out like it has, there was no other option. She couldn't be a better mother, friend, boss, whatever--and achieve the level of expertise that she has. You can decide if that's good, bad, or neutral.
Aside from the human drama of making a killer magazine, I think this movie is really about art and commerce and how they fight and then go get a drink together. Equally, the idea of style as a means of expression (such that even having no 'fashion sense' telling of a person) is as important as the way we speak, how well read we are, the kinds of movies we watch, what kind of car we drive or wish we drove, where we live, what we do on the weekends, etc. And the idea of wearing someone else's art is the ultimate act of appropriation. And that's actually really cool. And somehow that helps explain a woman like Anna Wintour.
For the record, I set out to talk about Grace in this movie and really got off track. Just goes to show you how powerful Anna Wintour is.
No comments:
Post a Comment