Once again, hello Curbside readers!
As promised, I'm going to share a Film Muse with you today starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix in Gus Van Sant's To Die For (1995). For some reason, this film never gets old. I remember seeing it as a kid and sympathizing with Joaquin's character (a no-good punk who falls for the local weather woman which he then helps murder her husband), yet I must say I also felt oddly empowered by Suzanne's (Kidman) "go-get-'em" power driven attitude. Perhaps I just have a soft spot for the career oriented '90s working woman (shout out to my mom).
Aside from the brilliant acting in this dark comedy, I also have to give props to the costume designer. Some of the stills that I have chosen almost remind me of Tim Burton's constructed neighborhood in Edward Scissorhands. Suzanne's world is perfectly pedicured and is the epitome of the word "clean". Suzanne sticks to modest pastels of periwinkle, robin's egg blue, and lemonade pink. She rocks checkered print in multiple mediums, yet still manages to ooze dangerous sex appeal. I literally want to time warp it back to the '90s and have a picnic wearing her wardrobe. What a dream.
Then we have the punks (que Joaquin). I loved how they contrasted Suzanne in every way possible - messy hair, converse, the classic T-shirt over a long sleeve shirt outfit, etc. I had this massive soft spot for Lydia, the grungy tomboy teen who Suzanne chooses to mentor and befriend (with ulterior motives, of course). I'm pretty sure this was the actress's first film, and you can really see the venerability in her character without it being totally melodramatic.
I could go on and on about Joaquin, but I'll spare you this time. However, one thing I noticed is that his character oddly reminds me of Simon from E4's Misfits. The way he talks/mumbles, that stupidly hot stare that he does, even his mannerisms remind me of the early and awkward Simon. If you're a Misfits fan, definitely look out for it. I swear I'm not crazy.
(one of my favorites of Suzanne's outfits. A cashmere looking sweet pea colored sweater, with fitted high waisted (hell yeah) grey checkered pants. )
Lastly, I really enjoyed Suzanne's sister-in-law, Janice. Being a spunky Italian/figure skater, Janice perfectly brings the macabre humor that the movie needed (the last scene, shown above). For some reason, her frilly skating outfits just make everything ten times more hilarious once you get to know her character.
It's a great movie, so if you haven't seen it - definitely get on it! I hope you enjoyed this Film Muse post. I will be doing more outfit of the days in future posts as they were requested.
Sayonara!
-Lauren Rose
Curbside Fashion
To Die For is amazing. You post really cool and interesting stuff here, as well as on your other pages. I'm Lou, a 28 year old chick from Spain. In my early teens I was surrounded by all this kind of stuff, I grew up on all these movies, on grunge, on britpop...I remember bleaching my hair, wearing oversize flannel over lace dresses and making my dad REALLY upset with my smeared red lipstick. I wanted to be Courtney Love. I stayed up late listening to Nirvana on cassette tapes. One would think those trends hardly got any impact on Spain, but they did have it on some of us. I was angry, and Grunge just happened. I couldn't stand being spoon-fed with lethargy, so Cobain's or Vedder's screams were so soothing, even if I couldn't understand 90% of the lyrics. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for honoring those sweet years,and for being smart and having a great sense of culture. I think you and me would get on, despite the age difference. Good night from the other side of the pond, and excuse me if I made any mistakes, I'm an English teacher, but I do have bad days.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! I always love hearing stories like that. It seems like such a different world back then. I'm glad we can connect over these ideas though today. Thank you once again!
ReplyDeleteMuch love from the U.S.A.!
-Lauren Rose
I can't wait for the movie. I loved the book. I should agree this is the best written book.
ReplyDeleteMovie is going to rock ....
the movie fifty shades