Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Vivienne Westwood, Andreas Kronthaler, Kate Moss, Christina Hendricks
Intro:
...a well-paced documentary that captures Westwood to a tee.
The words punk, icon, activist have never been more fitting to anyone other than Dame Vivienne Westwood. Lorna Tucker directs Westwood, or at least tries to, in this colourful and provocative documentary. The tension between Tucker and Westwood is evident from the beginning, with Westwood slumped in a chair accompanied by a disinterested expression. It’s clear she has very little interest in sharing her life story. “It’s so boring to say all this”, Westwood says right before some slick editing work cuts to a montage of a selection of iconic images from her life.
Beginning with her more conservative life, a child in post-war Derbyshire, to becoming punk royalty and then Britain’s most iconic fashion designer. Westwood truly redefined British fashion and although she might beg to differ, the most intriguing part of the film is how she set the punk movement on fire with ex-partner Malcolm McLaren. Westwood is disinterested in rehashing the memories of her relationship with McLaren, however, for the viewer this is where the film starts to gain momentum. She modestly says, “we invented punk”, and yes, they did. They gave the word “punk” new meaning. They recreated punk garments that would confront society and ignite the movement.
Where Westwood lacks enthusiasm to talk about herself, her associates and family members fill in the gaps of the story. This makes for good pacing throughout. Her long-time lover and husband Andreas Kronthaler recaps how the pair met and how he, a student at the time, fell in love with his then teacher, Westwood. Andreas expressing his love and adoration for her sets a warm romantic tone for the documentary and it’s welcoming to see a light-hearted and loveable side of Westwood. It is very clear she is so undeniably in love with Andreas just as much as he is with her.
Westwood’s hard work and determination as designer and businesswoman are on show here, as she remains the only major fashion designer who still owns her own company. Even now in her late seventies, her provocative and daring fashions are constantly evolving to this day. The film doesn’t provide the viewer with much about Westwood’s avid environmental activism, however there is a moment when she is followed on a Greenpeace mission to the Arctic. It is brief and unfortunately not something Tucker delves into much.
Undoubtedly, Westwood is a hard-ass subject to film, but Tucker perseveres, and the result is a well-paced documentary that captures Westwood to a tee.
