McQueen

Composite Score: 83.43

Featuring: Alexander McQueen, Joyce McQueen, John Hitchcock, Danny Hall, Koji Tatsuno, Janet McQueen, John McKitterick, and Isabella Blow

Directors: Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui

Writer: Peter Ettedgui

Genres: Documentary, Biography, Fashion

MPAA Rating: R for language and nudity

Box Office: $2.74 million worldwide

Why should you Watch This Film?

                McQueen is the 2018 documentary about the life and work of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen from his time as a young tailor to becoming a fashion student to his time at Givenchy and Gucci to his tragic death in 2010. It is a gorgeously made documentary, capturing the essence of the designer in its visuals, not just the archive footage of his shows, but in the color and staging of the interviews and the cinematic title cards for each of the film’s sections. The documentary sets itself apart by throwing its audience directly into the fashion world and taking you along for a ride with McQueen as you learn about his family, his personal life, and his professional passion and the way that each tied to his work and, ultimately, his death.

Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?

                McQueen’s death is a heavy subject, hinted at for most of the film, that eventually becomes the focus of the film’s final act and can be difficult for some people to process. If you have any kind of trauma relating to suicide and/or suicide attempts, the film’s final chapter might not be the most uplifting experience. Each of the interviewees gives their very raw reaction to learning of McQueen’s death and the circumstances of it in a way that unapologetically communicates the tragedy and despair of his act – never blaming him but showing just how impactful such a death can truly be. It’s tough to watch, but it also serves as a powerful reminder of just how many people do care and just how difficult grief is to cope with for everybody.

So wait, why should you Watch This Film?

                McQueen’s story up until his death is one that fascinates the audience, and his work as a fashion designer was unlike just about anything else. His background as the son of a London cab driver who had a passion for clothing and made his first clothing lines on basically welfare money forms a brilliant start to his intriguing story. His second act as a more established designer, working to get his own clothing line off the ground and getting picked up to be the head of Givenchy serves as the catalyst for his downfall, giving the audience a cautionary tale about passion and letting it dominate your life. Ultimately, his final act as a fragile celebrity is the saddest but perhaps most interesting because of how he seemed to be looking back with so much regret and nostalgia for all the things he missed from when he was young and hungry. This is not a documentary that glorifies the lifestyle of the rich and the famous but instead elevates the simplicity of the workers and the poor and the outcasts, capturing the true essence of the designer’s works in fashion. Just as McQueen sought to capture the beauty in the things that he loved – the strong women in his life and the things that got him through the hard times – the documentary does the same, focusing on the people and events that contributed to who he was without too much of the glitz and glam attached.

                McQueen is a fabulous documentary that continues in the vein of its subject, working to tell the audience about Alexander McQueen even as it does what he did in elevating the simple things of his past and downplaying the riches that brought about his downfall, granting the documentary a deserved spot among the greats. Anyone struggling with similar issues to McQueen should possibly do a bit more reading on the film’s content before committing to watch, but anyone else should find plenty here to enjoy and learn and grow from. The film is currently streaming on HBO Max if you’d like to give it a shot.