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Here comes one more film with breathy dialogue (also known as acting), plenty of nudity (also acting) and an inane storyline. Such is _Fur_ which purports to tell the story of photojournalist Diane (pronounced Dee Ann) Arbus. When Arbus was gaining popularity in the 1970’s, her reputation was based on pictures that were slightly askew. A famous photograph was of identical twin girls in which one girl is smiling and the other frowning. Not identical at all. In real life, Arbus came from a wealthy Jewish family that made their fortune in the fur business. Diane married Alan Arbus, a famous fashion photographer, had two daughters and assisted behind-the-scenes in accessorizing the models. Eventually, she and Alan divorced and then Diane took photography lessons and was famous on her own until her death, which was ruled a suicide.

Fur centers on Diane Arbus (Nicole Kidman) as she is in her 12th year of marriage and wondering if this is all there is to life. Her mother (Jane Alexander) rules the household and doesn’t have a kind word for anyone. Dad (Boris Yulin) meekly follows Mom in her verbal destruction. Husband Alan seems glad to be working for the family, and the two daughters are spitting images of their grandmother (oldest) and Diane (youngest.) Enter a new neighbor (Robert Downey, Jr.) in the upstairs apartment of this old, but wealthy Brownstone in New York. Diane is intrigued and soon ventures upstairs to meet him, only to be captivated by the man who has a genetic disease in which his body constantly grows hair. The first time you see him, Bigfoot comes to mind. Downey tries in his exploration of this character, but there is only so much you can do when wearing a hair suit. Of course, no one in the family understands her interest---which is escalating toward love---remember the television series “Beauty and the Beast?”---and there are embarrassing moments. 

Kidman’s portrayal of Diane Arbus would have looked fine in The Others, but her whispery delivery of lines is downright creepy. The camera centers on her face time after time and we wait for a profound statement only to have to strain to hear anything. Downey has to make do with eye movement and hand motions as that is all we get. The supporting cast fares better, especially Jane Alexander as Mom with the tongue of a viper and Ty Burrell as Alan Arbus who just can’t comprehend what is going on in his marriage. When in doubt, have the actors take off their clothes and this happens time after time. I think Erin Cressida Wilson’s script must have been all of five pages long.

Fur may have wanted to be a psychology study in that Diane’s family is obsessed with the softness of fur and this is what she sees in Downey’s character. It becomes bizarre when she dons a coat made of Downey’s hair. Can Texas Chainsaw Massacre be far behind?  There are inconsistencies in the film, also, such as when Diane goes to take Downey’s photograph with only one bulb in her camera? Downey has a very large pool in his upstairs apartment and would the floor be able to hold this weight? The pool is quite an addition to the story, but really

I will say that Carter Burwell’s music and the set design are well done, but all in all, Fur is an exercise in futility. A straight documentary would have been better than depicting Arbus as getting inspiration from an upstairs neighbor with a genetic affliction. The cast could have gone on to other projects. If this is Kidman’s bid for another Oscar nomination, it may fall flat.

Copyright 2006 Marie Asner
Submitted 11/22/06
 
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