Factory Girl | DVD Review

In the 1960’s, art icon Andy Warhol, churned out work after work. Thus the location where most of his work was made was dubbed “The Factory.” During that same period, Andy met a young, beautiful socialite named Edie Sedgwick. She became his girl. Hence the title of director George Hickenlooper’s 2006 film, FACTORY GIRL. Of course it was trying to be the girl of a homosexual artist but we don’t pick the people we fall in love and that irritating rule also applies to the rich and famous. FACTORY GIRL is much less a biopic and much more an unconventional love story that was doomed from the start. It is also the arrival of a new talent. Model turned actress, Sienna Miller, has acted before but this performance was lauded as the kind that turns heads and forces people to treat a talent with the respect it deserves. When the film was released theatrically, there was award season buzz for Miller (as well as Pearce who plays Warhol) but the film fell on the scene just a little too late to be seriously considered. Rushing it into the theatres for consideration is what ultimately undermines the film, as it felt rushed and unfinished. It now finds a new home on DVD in an unrated version, which is really more of a director’s cut, and Miller finally finds her time to shine.

FACTORY GIRL is certainly not short on special features. Considering it’s only a one-disc edition, it contains probably as many extras as can be crammed into the space available. That said, there was certainly some fat that could have been trimmed. “The Real Edie” is a 30-minute documentary about, well, the title says it all. Only it doesn’t give you any more insight into the person than the film itself does. Despite this, it is nowhere near as useless as Guy Pearce’s “Video Diary”. Clocking in at over twenty minutes, a video camera passes through hands that should keep to acting and avoid filming whenever possible. Your standard theatrical trailer and deleted scenes make their appearances, as well as a fairly entertaining “Making Of” featurette. In both an insightful and informed turn, Hickenlooper gives his feature commentary. You can tell from his tone that he genuinely appreciated his experience shooting FACTORY GIRL. He points out the scenes that were put back into the film for the unrated version and one can truly get the sense that this film was unfinished in its theatrical release. The most enlightening special feature though is also the shortest and one that is often overlooked on DVD. Miller’s audition video is not only compelling because you’re watching a model prove that she can be an actress but you’re also watching her nail it. Given that Miller’s performance received more press than the film, watching the origins of that performance pretty much explains why.

Andy Warhol’s 60’s were a time of liberation and excitement. FACTORY GIRL has splashes of that energy and strong, captivating performances that ultimately allow forgiveness for the film’s oversimplifying flaws.

Movie rating – 3

Disc Rating – 3