So today ended up being an interesting day covering Sundance. Last night I was tired and frustrated that I went to the grocery store  to get something to eat (most everything else was closed and I didn’t want fast food). Little did I realize with my fatigue I left my wallet at the grocery store and I didn’t need it until the evening tonight. I didn’t realize it wasn’t there until after my first screening and I was purchasing a sandwich (luckily I had some cash in my purse!).

Panicking a little I decided to forgo the second screening and look for my wallet and it was a good thing I did. I looked all through my car and then my house and in a last ditch effort I called the grocery store and was thrilled when they said they had it! I’m so grateful to whomever found it and turned it in. Thank you kind and honest stranger!

HALSTON

So that leaves me with only one movie to review today: the documentary Halston. Directed by Frédéric Tcheng it tells the story of the great American fashion designer Roy Halston who achieved peak fame in the 1970s. As one might expect, he led a very interesting life and created beautiful clothes for the modern woman. The film has a ton of new and archival interviews and I found it all quite fascinating.

Unfortunately they decide to frame the film with a bizarre narration that makes it seem like they are setting up a murder mystery not a celebrity documentary. They have an actress who is going through files and researching into the strange goings on of Halston and honestly nothing seemed all that strange? It was really odd and distracting from the narrative they did have because I was constantly waiting for Halston to get shot or something sinister. Also there are some reenactments which feel really cheesy.

It’s a shame because none of it was needed. Halston’s life is interesting enough without a fake melodramatic narrator. I wish they had paid attention to last year’s Kusama Infinity which did a much better job telling the story of an eccentric artist in a documentary format. Unfortunately these additions also make the movie too long. They should have gotten rid of all of the narration nonsense and just be confident in Halston and his life to carry the movie.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy