It begins with one of the strangest opening sequences of recent years, when a UFO descends upon 1854 Dublin and leaves a newborn baby on the doorstep of Mr and Mrs Wilde. The baby is wearing a green brooch, which will be passed from character to character during the film: it's a symbol of transgression (particularly sexual) and self-expression in the face of repressiveness, all the qualities Todd Haynes sees in Glam Rock. Then we see young Oscar Wilde in his classroom telling his teacher that he wants to be a pop idol. One hundred years later, the brooch falls into the hands of Jack Fairy, perhaps the original essence of Glam.
In 1974, at the height of his career, glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) fakes his own death on stage. In the audience is teenage fan Arthur (Christian Bale). It's soon revealed that the shooting was a publicity stunt and in the ensuing outrage, Slade disappears and is never seen again. In 1984, Arthur is now a journalist working in New York. Assigned to investigate what happened to Slade, he interviews those who knew him, from his original manager Cecil (Michael Feast) and especially his ex-wife Mandy (Toni Collette).
Velvet Goldmine was released in London on October 23rd, 1996.
