DCP at Lincoln Center
What am I rating here exactly? If it’s Nan Goldin as an artist, of course she gets a five out of five. One of the greatest alive today. Her photography, her slideshow films, her books, even how she describes her work is all undeniably A+. The clip we saw from her unproduced documentary even made me tear up a bit. And then she’s one of the few post-Reagan activists to have actually effected some change (since she has one foot within the system, the museums).
But if it’s the documentary I’m rating—the new material brought to the table in this movie specifically—to me it seemed like a somewhat breezy primer. Goldin’s work is great to look at, but that’s old news. I’m left to consider basically just the editing, and it doesn’t pack any surprises. It’s an issue I had with this year’s The Fire Within/Fire of Love and Moonage Daydream, and it holds true here, although to a lesser extent. Probing the circumstances of Goldin’s childhood, especially the documents from her sister’s institutionalization, is a highlight. And then the coverage of P.A.I.N.’s activism against the Sackler family is compelling (I especially enjoyed the egg-eating lawyer), if not a bit disappointing in the informational department.
I’d 100% recommend this to anyone unfamiliar with Goldin’s work or if you just want to hear her talk.
Maybe my expectations for docs are too high after seeing The Act of Killing last month. Maybe I just don’t respect editors.