Factory Girl

The film chronicles Edie Sedgwick's (Sienna Miller) mid-'60s days with artist Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce) and his Factory, a glam Manhattan loft where artist misfits partied and made underground movies (some of which were pornographic). As light and happy as Sedgwick appears -- prancing around in leotards and tights, with her infectious laugh and her love of art and friends -- she reveals a dark past through painful stories. Born to a wealthy, blue-blooded family, Sedgwick grew up afraid of her father's sexual advances and with no support from her chilly mother. What's more, she had to deal with her brother's suicide and being admitted to a mental hospital. Given all that, it comes as no surprise to watch Sedgwick drink excessively, experiment casually with drugs, and get hooked on heroin. Warhol is painted as a monster as he watches this deeply troubled young woman slip slowly into a black hole. It's well-documented that Sedgwick knew Bob Dylan, but in the film she becomes involved with a prophet-like folk musician known as Billy Quinn (Hayden Christensen). (Apparently Dylan's people threatened to sue if he was mentioned.) Quinn tries to pry Sedgwick away from Warhol, and though she's tempted, she can't escape the Factory's clutches. This starts her downward spiral, which is accompanied by some of the film's saddest scenes -- graphic images of Sedgwick being injected in her bruised bottom, drugged, and taken advantage of by other junkies. Warhol further punishes her with an almost-rape scene in one of his movies.