Velvet Goldmine

The glam-rock era of David Bowie or early Queen lives again in Todd Haynes’s glitter-and-makeup-filled tribute to the excesses and pansexualities of the seventies music scene, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ewan McGregor, and Christian Bale lending their well-sculpted cheekbones to the operatic tale of a superstar singer’s rise and fall. Cinematographer Maryse Alberti explodes the screen with all manner of confetti-colored, spandex-stretched imagery, embracing a visual palette of wig hair, leopard prints, and extraterrestrial mascara. Don’t worry about the plot; Velvet Goldmine is pure sensation, with nods to Oscar Wilde, Citizen Kane, and Kurt Cobain furthering the fun.