George Hickenlooper
‘Factory Girl’ (2006) is based upon the heartbreaking tale of one of Andy Warhol’s most famous muses in the 60’s, Edie Sedgwick. Starring Sienna Miller as the iconic underground actress of the 1960’s and Guy Pearce as legendary artist and filmmaker, Andy Warhol, we delve into Edie’s story, from her most glamorous streak of fame to the downward spiral of her drug addiction and early death.
““I went to a party once, and there was a palm reader there and when she looked at my hand, she just froze. And I said to her, “I know. My lifeline is broken. I know I won’t live past thirty.””
Out of all of his muses, Andy Warhol fell mostly for Edie; she had a rebellious spirit from the start. As viewers, we are first immersed in the silver factory world of Andy Warhol which allows us to see the perspective from Edie living her life as one big dream, from filming her character in the silver factory to her exterior dream world of public fame in the thriving 60’s high society of New York City.
Similar to Andy Warhol’s film style, director George Hickenlooper carries a chaotic and extremist artistic style, of which ‘Factory Girl’ certainly carries an excitement of the 1960’s fast life. However, critics mention that Sienna Miller as Edie Sedgwick is what saved this film from being a “live fast, or die young” cliché.
““Have you ever analyzed things to the degree where you can’t really remember the difference between what’s real, and what you’ve created in your head?””
Edie quickly became lost in her own fame, drowning within the lurking praise from others, only to realize she could quickly be replaced with a look-a-like. Her drug addiction extended out of her dreams and into her dark reality, which fed her fame, but ruined her first authentic romantic relationship. Edie fell in love at first sight with a famous folk musician, Billy Quinn played by Hayden Christensen, whose character seemingly portrayed to be Bob Dylan yet the film did not show any verbal facts of Hayden playing as Bob Dylan.
Although much controversy arose for director George Hickenlooper causing many delays for the film to launch, the story of Edie Sedgwick still remains alive through the making of this film. Actual people involved in Edie’s life in the 1960’s were outraged when this film came out, specifically Bob Dylan and Lou Reed, who stated that Edie’s biography insinuated false dramatized information.
Factory Girl
director GEORGE HICKENLOOPER
year 2006
director of photography MICHAEL GRADY
cast GUY PEARCE, SIENNA MILLER, HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN, JIMMY FALLON and MENA SUVARI
words ELLEN GRACE
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