This is a really smart way of doing a music ‘biopic’. The protagonist is basically an amalgamation of several famous musicians, so that gives writer/director Todd Haynes all the room to focus on the aspects of glam rock he finds the most interesting. There’s a lot happening here under the surface, it paints a pretty in depth picture of the genre’s theatrical roots, visual aesthetic, lgbt allyship, sexual explicitness, music style and so much more. Unfortunately the script is a little patchy in places. I think that removing Christian Bale and the flashback framing device would fix a lot of issues in regards to exposition and focus, it really doesn’t add that much to the film. Meyers and McGregor are good at recreating the vocal styles of the era, besides that I thought everyone’s acting was just fine. The directing, on the other hand, is amazing. Haynes captures the unique vibe and campy aesthetic of glam rock effortlessly trough the tone, editing and cinematography. The musical interludes in particular are probably the most entertaining part of the film.

7/10