Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Length: Single
Studio: Picturehouse
Rated: R
Website: http://www.furmovie.com/
Release Date: 2006-11-10
Cast: Nalu Tripician, Rochelle Bostrom, Jennifer Kusner, Rachel Boynton
Director: Steven Shainberg
Screenwriter: Erin Cressida Wilson, Tamara Jenkins, Patricia Bosworth
Music Score: Todd Kasow, Beth Amy Rosenblatt, Carter Burwell
WorkNameSort: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Our Rating: 2.50
Fur is director Steven Shainberg and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson’s follow-up to their indie darling Secretary, and at least in spirit it’s a sequel of sorts. While Arbus was a highly regarded, distinctive 20th-century American photographer, it’s not correct to consider Fur a straightforward biopic. The filmmakers dismiss reality in favor of an almost entirely made-up fairy tale that tries to express how Arbus’ early artistic birth might have taken place internally. One of those steps is via a male muse that liberates Arbus much like James Spader did Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary. The device isn’t as effective here, if only because the prologue points out Arbus’ relevance to modern photography, while the movie does nothing to explain why or to put that statement into context. Whereas Secretary didn’t have to worry about truth, Fur never quite escapes it, nor embraces it.

This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2006.