I found this documentary initially intriguing but ultimate incomplete. I still don't have a real sense of who Candy was, whether she had talent, and whether she was happy or sad. Maybe that's the point of a documentary about someone who was primarily an enigma.
I gave it 7/10. And you?
I liked it. I was touched by how devoted Jeremiah was/is to her, even after death.
shareMe too. Such a sad story, and very well told. I knew next to nothing about her before this film and was glad for the opportunity to get to know her. I may be wrong but I now feel as if I have a good idea of who she was. As a transwoman myself I have shared many of the same feelings and known several other wonderful transfolk much like her. She would be amazed by just how very much not alone she would be today. Still, we lose more to murder and suicide in high numbers, so we must keep fighting, but at least we're not thrown in jail for wearing mascara in public!
Yes, Candy was very much about presentation and persona, but that stuff was more like her profession and her passion. Deep down she just needed to feel loved like everyone else. I wish she could have found a kind soul and let them in, but I understand how hard that can be. And of course she was young, but normally that solves itself. Mainly I wish she hadn't lived in a time and place full of haters like Fran Liebowitz who feel compelled to tear at things they do not understand. I never knew Candy before today and I already miss her terribly.
I got the distinct feeling that Candy was sad but was ultimately strong enough to live her life the way she wanted. As one of her diary entries revealed, she couldn't do the "normal" things that she longed to do and felt like she was missing out on so much of life. I felt a strong sadness to her entire life but she was still so witty, intelligent and fabulous. One can't help but admire and have affection for someone like that.
I found Jeremiah touching and a bit creepy. I'm sure there's more to his life than what we saw but it's almost like he was living with a ghost. He was also in denial about Candy turning tricks to get money yet he admitted as much on tapes from the 1970s. That bit was puzzling. His devotion to her is touching because it's obvious her family wasn't interested in keeping her memory alive. She's definitely one of the more interesting Warhol stars. Nearly all of them are but her story seems a bit sadder to me. She didn't intentionally self destruct like so many of the Warhol contingent and I think it would have been interesting to see how her career would have evolved had she lived.
Very insightful post, TheLightFantastic. I would love to see a more detailed psychological portrait of Warhol's Factory players, one that looks below the superficial surface into their psyches. Those inner motivations are much more interesting to me than their surface characters, which seem like disguises rather than identities.
shareI thought that she was as tragic a figure as Marilyn Monroe. I thought it was so sad that she thought a self absorbed go nowhere like Andy Warhol was her 'in' to being a Hollywood actress.
"...but can you Americans speak any other language besides English?"-Inglorious Basterds