Fur - An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (15)

Review by Carol Allen

Diane Arbus was a photographer who was born and lived in New York City until she committed suicide there in 1971 at the age of 48. She is famous internationally for photographing people on the fringes of society – those different from the norm – as she turned her camera on Manhattan's transvestites, dwarves, giants and prostitutes among others.

However, this film is not a straightforward biopic of the photographer. The second part of the film's title is important, because, although based on Patricia Bosworth's biography of Arbus and taking in some of the facts of her life, this is not a bio of actual events; it is a fantasy, almost a fairy story about Diane's inner life.

The film starts off seeming real enough, as we meet Diane (Kidman), housewife and mother in the New York of the '50s, working in a very subservient role as assistant to her photographer husband. She is shy, awkward, and still dominated by her parents Gertrude (Jane Alexander) and David (Harris Yulin), who is a leading Manhattan furrier. Even at this stage though we get glimpses of another boldly sexual Diane fighting for expression.

She becomes fascinated by the new neighbour who moves in upstairs, Lionel (Downey Jr), who is never seen without hat, mask and all enveloping clothing with only his eyes visible. However, you get a strong sense of his character from his very first shot because of Downey's expressive eyes and later when we hear his voice. Eventually like a reverse version of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, Diane carrying her camera climbs the stairs to the strange "wonderland", which is the world of Lionel and his unusual friends and later discovers his startling secret – his whole face, head and body are covered in silky fur. This is where the fantasy that represents Diane's inner life takes over.

This is a seriously strange film with echoes not only of "Alice in Wonderland" but of Cocteau's film Beauty and the Beast. Lionel has a distinct resemblance both to the latter and to some images of Aslan the Lion in the Narnia Chronicles. Downey looks magnificent and gives a charismatic performance as the object of Diane's fascination.

While she looks nothing like the real Arbus, who was short and dark as opposed to willowy tall and blonde, the beautiful and talented Kidman is compelling as Diane, gradually releasing her talent and sensuality from the bonds of conventionality. Burrell is also very good in the less showy role of her understandably hurt and bewildered husband Allan, who cannot understand his wife's obsession with their furry neighbour, and which may perhaps reflect what must have been Allan's reaction in real life, when his wife changed from perfect housewife to photographer of unusual people.

The late '50s period is well caught, both in the action and things like the “ideal housewife” type models, who are the subject of Allan's photographic work, while one of the strong visual devices employed is the way Diane's clothes express physically what is happening to her. Initially she encases herself in prim, high necked, buttoned-up-tight dresses. Then, as her relationship with Lionel develops, she moves into more relaxed clothes with lower necklines and a softer, sexier look reflecting her changed attitude and life.

The transition in the film from reality to fantasy is done very gradually, creeping up on you in a sometimes confusing way. Why for example is the top floor of the building, where Lionel lives, semi-derelict yet the rest of the apartment block is well maintained? Does he perhaps only exist in a fantasy world she is living in her head? But once you accept that this is a fantasy about the inner Diane, it all makes sense. It's beautiful to look at, intriguing, certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but definitely different.