A Fictionalized Look at Diane Arbus That Ignores Her Real Photography
In short: The 2006 drama Fur attempts to capture the spirit of iconic photographer Diane Arbus through a surreal, invented narrative. Starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr., the film explores an imagined romance with a neighbor suffering from hypertrichosis, yet it notably excludes any of the artist's actual work.
Directed by Steven Shainberg and scripted by Erin Cressida Wilson, the movie draws inspiration from Patricia Bosworth's biographical account of Arbus. Despite this literary foundation, the film is explicitly a work of fiction rather than a factual retelling of the photographer's life. The narrative follows a housewife in 1958 New York who finds liberation through an intimate connection with a mysterious, hair-covered neighbor named Lionel Sweeney. This relationship serves as a catalyst for her artistic awakening, leading her away from her family's photography business and toward the fringes of society.
The production faced significant hurdles regarding the depiction of the artist's legacy. Because the estate of Arbus withheld approval, the film contains none of her original photographs. Critics were divided on the result; while some praised the performances of Kidman and Downey Jr. for making the unbelievable feel grounded, others felt the film failed to match the daring nature of its subject. The Los Angeles Times, for instance, lauded the acting but criticized the ending for being glib and undercutting the film's thematic message about surface differences.
The film's reception was lukewarm, holding a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 50 on Metacritic. Some reviewers, such as those at the Chicago Tribune, found the portrait to be deeply affecting and revelatory. Ultimately, the project stands as a stylized, imaginative interpretation of an artist known for her disturbing and strange imagery, rather than a traditional biopic. It remains a curious example of how cinema can attempt to dramatize the internal process of a creator while simultaneously distancing itself from the literal facts of their career.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Fur (film)
- Also: Wikidata — Fur · CC0
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