I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Directed by Mary Harron

I Shot Andy Warhol is a much better movie than I remember it being. I recall it being cool, but not especially good. Seeing it again, I think it is really something. Lili Taylor gives a mesmerizing performance, probably her best ever, and the whole supporting cast is terrific, particularly Stephen Dorff as Candy Darling and Michael Imperiolli as Ondine. The Andy Warhol Factory world is conjured seductively enough that I could care less about factual accuracy. The music is great and not at all cliched.

What struck me most, though, was the depiction of a person on the cusp of greatness who just teeters the other way into madness. The line is pretty thin. Ask any of my film reviewing cohorts. You think Rex Reed is a genius, then he goes and shoplifts at Tower Records. It's refreshing to see a movie that does not glorify its subject, or even take sides really. This ain't some crap like A Beautiful Mind, which I have not seen.

Taylor plays Valerie Solanas, author of The SCUM Manifesto and attempted murderer of Warhol; she plays it with marvelous ambiguity. Mary Harron's direction is also beautifully ambiguous; at various times it's hard to tell for sure whether this is a straight biopic, feminist dogma, black comedy, subversive filmmaking, or merely hipster food. It's probably a lot of all of those, and some others.

Whatever it is, it's got a high re-watch value and really should be thought of more seriously. No one ever talks about this movie. Well, start talkin' assholes, I say it's fuckin' good!

Review by Lucie Laurie