Factory Girl

As in real life, Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller) is a tragic charmer, who is let down by the two men with whom she shares the screen of celebrity. Guy Pearce is mostly believable as Andy Warhol, though the film emphasizes the emotional vacancy over the sly wit. Hayden Christensen is utterly vacant (where’s my lightsaber?) as the foil, a supposedly passionate folksinger who is lightly fictionalized -- here’s a hint: he wears this harmonica contraption around his neck and is reckless with motorcycles. I think we can infer that “Like a Rolling Stone” was written about Edie, but that this film couldn’t afford the music rights or the libel exposure to Dylan himself. Maybe a real actor (Cate Blanchett perhaps, though I have yet to see I’m Not There) could have created a credible simulacrum of that very familiar figure (I just caught on tv a replay of his potent Newport performances from 1963-65), but that big hole in the screen robs the film of significance, and makes it laughable in parts. But come back to Sienna Miller -- this is a star-making performance if I ever saw one. The premise of the film rests on her -- that this poor damaged girl could be a captivating presence -- and by herself she salvages George Hickenlooper’s overreaching film. (2007, dvd, n.) *6* (MC-45.)