FILM Tales of Two Artists in Mid-Century

ne oF tHe PitFAllS of any son launch, his work had not fared as well biopic is the lead actor’s tempta- ALLEN ELLENZWEIG in the next two shows. tion to do a full-throttle imitation Again, Bergé takes the reins, suing o for a considerable sum and amassing the fi- of the person whose life story is being told. unless you’re chan- Yves Saint Laurent nancial support for Saint laurent to strike neling Margaret thatcher or Julia Child, or Directed by Jalil Lespert out on his own with a line of haute couture. Marion Cotillard as edith Piaf, the results The Weinstein Company this second “crisis”—an attack upon his can seem like bad parody. A recent entry to Violette competence and fledgling reputation—re- the genre is the French film Yves Saint Lau- Directed by Martin Provost veals how the young ySl, obsessed with rent,aboutthe young French-Algerian ge- Adopt Films nothing but his design abilities, his compul- nius who at 21 took over the haute couture sion to create women’s clothes at the highest house of Christian Dior. theperformance by the young Pierre artisanal level, is also a reflection of his total inability to live in niney as Saint laurent has to enter the annals of great star-mak- the quotidian world. ySl admits to being a“cripple”;he’s the ing turns. niney, astageactor with the renowned Comédie sort of childlike genius who can do one thing brilliantly but can- Française, gives us a richly layered, three-dimensional portrait of not otherwise function in daily life. the intensely shy yves Saint laurent, a gay prince from a family the rest of the film is an unusually compelling account of pro- of the haute bourgeoisie in oran who came of age as the Algerian fessional triumphs played against fitful descents into the drug and War of independence was taking root. sex hedonism of the 1970s, Saint laurent’s rapidascent in the Yves Saint Laurent revealing and opening the Parisian fashion world is seen as the result divide between ySl and of his intense inner drive and confidence Bergé. the former, having in his own talents, given public voice in led amonkishexistence his early press interviews. He makes good while attending to the gru- with the crucial help of Pierre Bergé,his eling requirements of lover, mentor, companion, and soul-mate. spring and fall runway in real life, Bergé was yves’senior by only shows, now surrenders to six years but was by temperament far the teenage rebellion he more stable and acted as something of a never experienced. the father figure. together the two men would lovers’ vacation house in build the ySl fashion empire. Marrakech becomes the two early moments set the stage for an headquarters for young understanding of the young genius’s psy- friends and close col- chology. in 1960, Saint laurent is drafted leagues who share sexca- into the army at the time of the Algerian pades, jokes, and cocaine. War, an eventuality he has feared and for Bergé, who has already which he is temperamentally unsuited. shown himself capable of And we know why: asensitiveand cre- tactical infidelity—screw- ative gay man, almost painfully shy, will ing a favored (female) run- be asked to hold a gun and make war. Al- way model who is Saint most immediately, hesuffersanervous laurent’s chief“muse” in breakdown and enters a military hospital. order to arouse his part- Bergé goes off to attend to his lover, who ner’s jealousy—now must has shriveled to ashadowof his former endure aseriesof baccha- self, turning his face to the wall and barely nals which draw the flail- eating. A diagnosis of manic depression facilitates his departure ing yves deeper into guilt, defensiveness, and substance abuse. from military service. in the meantime, the house of Dior has Jalil lespert, the film’s director and writer, has a shrewd eye fired Saint laurent since, in his mental state, he’s not capable of for capturing period detail of the Paris fashion world. the early working, although this is merely a screen for the administration’s scenes of the Dioreraportray ademandingbackstage calculus loss of confidence in his talent: after a wildly successful first-sea- and aprim—onewould say almost conventional—public face where runway shows were strictly reserved for the elect few to be Allen ellenzweig is the author of the Homoerotic Photograph (1992) seated close to the action. the models would present in a series and a frequent contributor to these pages. of regimented poses and quick whirls with nothing left to chance.

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