McQueen is a 2018 biographical documentary film, directed by Ian Bonhôte, written and co-directed by Peter Ettedgui, and produced by Ian Bonhôte, Andee Ryder, Nick Taussig, and Paul Van Carter under the banner of Misfits Entertainment, and Salon Pictures. The documentary is based on the life and career of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
| McQueen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ian Bonhôte |
| Written by | Peter Ettedgui |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Alexander McQueen |
| Cinematography | Will Pugh |
| Edited by | Cinzia Baldessari |
| Music by | Michael Nyman |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate[1] |
Release date |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editThe film looks into life and career of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
Cast
editCredits adapted from Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
Production
editFilm director Ian Bonhôte, and producer Peter Ettedgui approached Alexander McQueen's family to make a documentary film about McQueen; the family declined the request.[3] In February 2017 Bonhôte, and Ettedgui proposed their idea to several film distributors.[3] The film was financed within three days, and director Ian Bonhôte added, "We wanted to make a really respectful cinematic version of Lee’s story".[3]
The production team took the project, with "zero access and zero original archive at our fingertips", and worked 18-20 hour days for a year to finish the project.[3]
Reception
editBox office
editMcQueen grossed $868,544 in the United Kingdom, and grossed $205,045 in Australia, for a total worldwide gross of $2,638,552.[4] On its domestic opening weekend the film grossed $98,873, averaging $24,718 per location.[1] On its second weekend McQueen grossed $83,461, with change of -16%, and averaging $16,692 per location.[4] On its third weekend the film grossed $181,638, which became its highest opening weekend, with +118% change, and averaging $5,342 per 34 theaters.[4]
Critical response
editOn the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "McQueen offers an intimate, well-sourced, and overall moving look at a young life and brilliant career that were tragically cut short."[2] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "Universal acclaim".[5]
Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone wrote, "McQueen is an empathetic, ravishing and scorchingly outspoken look at why, eight years after his death, he still leaves us transfixed".[6] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote, "McQueen” makes the case that its subject was an artist whose clay was clothing. It also, despite giving short shrift to psychoanalysis, reminds us that everything you might want to know about the artist can be found in the art".[7] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "If you live and die for fashion, a documentary called “McQueen” could tell only one story, that of designer Alexander McQueen, whose extraordinary gifts, dark preoccupations and tragic death make for a completely engrossing, compulsively watchable film".[8]
Accolades
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Tribeca Film Festival | Best Documentary | Nominated | [9] |
| Transatlantyk Festival | Nominated | [10] | ||
| Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival | Best Social Political Documentary | Nominated | [11] | |
| Hamburg Film Festival | Best Feature | Nominated | [12] | |
| 2019 | GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics | LGBTQ Documentary of the Year | Won | [13] |
| Motion Picture Sound Editors | Golden Reel Award | Nominated | [14] | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Documentary of the Year | Nominated | [15] | |
| International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA) | Best Original Score for a Documentary Film (IFMCA Award) | Nominated | [16] | |
| British Academy Film Awards | Outstanding British Film of the Year | Nominated | [17] | |
| Best Documentary | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ a b "McQueen (2018) - Weekend Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ a b "McQueen (2018)", Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, retrieved 2021-10-10
- ^ a b c d "The McQueen Documentary Tells The Story Of The People Who Carry His Legacy". British Vogue. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ a b c "McQueen (2018) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ McQueen, retrieved 2019-09-21
- ^ Claus, Jürgen (2019-06-21). "Leonardo, a Hologram: Still Unmatched, 500 Years after His Death". Leonardo. 52 (3): 339. doi:10.1162/leon_e_01766. ISSN 0024-094X. S2CID 91190731.
- ^ "The new Alexander McQueen documentary is the best of the many fashion movies this year". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
- ^ "Review: The documentary 'McQueen' captures both the designer's darkness and his astonishing ability to use it". Los Angeles Times. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ "Tribeca Film Festival (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "McQueen". Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "Hamburg Film Festival (2018)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ Kleinmann, James (January 9, 2019). "10th Annual Dorian Awards Winners Announced by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics". HeyUGuys. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (2019-01-18). "Motion Picture Sound Editors Reveal 2019 Golden Reel Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "'The Favourite' Leads Nominations for London Critics' Circle Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ STF. "IFMCA Awards 15th edition – Winners". SoundTrackFest. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards (2019)". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-09-22.