Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2007, DVD)

Steven Shainberg s latest film, Fur, is an imaginative tale of seduction and intrigue.
Much like his 2002 film, Secretary, which successfully answered the question, Can a dominant and a submissive find everlasting love? He manages to, once again, capture the same brilliant blend of tantalizing debauchery and sweet, poignant tenderness that made his preceding film so great. He creates a world that, although far from mainstream, many viewers will take an interest in exploring. Make no mistake, curiosity, on part of the viewer, will definitely be a key component in determining whether or not this film will ever make it past its first reel.

Based on the life of legendary photographer, Diane Arbus, an upper-class woman of gentile standing, and set in 1950 s closed-minded, class-conscious society, Fur is a psychological exploration into the mind and soul of the artiste.

The film opens with Arbus (Nicole Kidman) greeting a man and a woman at, of all places, a nudist colony. While Arbus does appear to be somewhat shocked at the inhabitants state of undress, she does not clasp hand to mouth, choke back maidenly gasps, nor does she run scandalized, shrieking about propriety or ungodliness. If anything, there is a slight glitter in her eye that speaks of glee, rather than horror. She is the picture of propriety, yet we can feel a restlessness in her that is barely contained. When she is asked by her hosts to disrobe, Arbus states she needs time to think about it and quietly excuses herself from her guests.

It is uncertain at this point how free spirited our soon to be photojournalists is at this point, or how she came to have the courage to even approach and enter the community.
At this point, Shainberg takes us back in time to a period Arbus before ventured out into the world, camera in hand. Working as an assistant for her husband who was, at the time, a popular photographer who shot advertisements, Arbus life is pretty monotonous, unexciting, and, for lack of a better word, tedious. That is, however, until one day, Arbus is gazing out of her apartment window and spies a dark figure in the street below.

Even through the gloom of night, there is something about him that stands out against the darkness. He radiates strength and power, capturing her attention immediately. In fact, his aura is so potent that it takes a few blinks of the eyes to realize that the figure has no features; he is wearing a mask. There is definitely something intriguing about this man and he remains in Arbus thoughts long after he is out of sight. She learns that he has moved into the building, is a tenant on the top floor and, as if she is the proverbial moth to a flame, she finds herself compelled to seek him out.

Without giving too much of the movie away, there are a few references, by her family in particular, that definitely imply that Arbus was considered, different, and strange long before the masked man appeared. Her husband believed she had ungodly urges because she had a tendency and desire to bite and nip at him during lovemaking. Hardly something to burn her at the stake for today, but, for this era of strictest propriety, anything more venturesome than the tried and true missionary position was clearly too much for her lover. It isn t shocking to us today that Arbus would be drawn to another medium as a form of release for her pent up desires.

Under the pretense of indulging her hobby, Arbus gains consent from her husband to seek out and photograph the neighbors, first on her list, the masked man in the penthouse apartment. Arbus soon becomes acquainted with her eccentric neighbor, Lionel Sweeney (Robert Downey Jr.). There is immediate chemistry between the duo and their many interactions trail a blaze of white-hot heat across screen, yet, the couple never touches. When Lionel, who remains fully covered, body and face, reveals himself to the beautiful, attractive housewife, she is shocked. Not by his birth defect, but by her own response. She is excited.

Much of the movie focuses on the love triangle between Arbus, her husband, Allan, and Lionel. Instead of trying to choose between her loyal, steadfast husband and her unconventional, broodingly dark and passionate mentor and suitor, Arbus decides to keep them both. Whatever her motivations, be they kinky or otherwise, Arbus bridges the gap between her normal and fantasy life. She, literally, welcomes Lionel, as well as his freakish friends into her home, introduces them to her children, parents, and anyone else she could think of.

Certainly keeping in line with his reputation for indulging in kinky filmmaking, Shainberg doesn t merely answer the questions that may have arisen about the origins of Arbus predilection for the bizarre; he also reveals his own fondness for deviant behavior. Much like Arbus, however, his propensity for taking on atypical topics doesn t come across as lewd or perverted. There is always something poignant and sweet about his characters; his movie is quite whimsical. Arbus and Lionel aren t merely passing figures in time, drawn to each other because of mutual contempt for conventional mores. The couple s relationship is so involved that it manages to transcend mere physical, sexual attraction to become a union of the souls.

Based on the book by Patricia Bosworth, and written for the screen by Erin Cressida Wilson (The same writer who penned Secretary), Fur is a romantic adventure about the human spirit. I enjoyed every minute of this film, even if I did, admittedly, gasp and rub my eyes a few times, unsure I had witness what it was I had just witnessed. The film is not preachy, doesn t presume to judge its characters or try convincing or persuading you in anyway. The filmmakers seen to want you to take everything, quite literally, at face value, to always keep in mind that the title of the movie is not called, Fur, for no reason.
Definitely shocking and certainly not for the timid or faint of heart; if you are a cynic, better to just bypass this DVD at the rental store.