If you knew enough about Mr. Saint Laurent's life and already in love with his dazzling works on your way in, this film would satisfy you. Otherwise, you were left hanging out there, feeling that something's missing. This biopic did a good job in not overdramatizing the less-than-eventful life of this famous designer. We were allowed to observe the substantial life of Mr. Saint Laurent in a quiet but penetrating way. The actor actually brought back to life Mr. Saint Laurent. Through him, we feel the senses of fulfillment, deprivation, craving for stability or wilderness of love, and we acknowledge that Mr. Saint Laurent and his lifetime companion and business associate truly steered the Saint Laurent ship through the uncertainty of life and multi-faceted forms of human weakness. It shows us that artistic talents, while indispensable, must be supported by mental strength and determination, something Mr. Saint Laurent missed at times. Well, lust for money and financial success does help, I figure, but it is never the main element to real success. To me personally, Mr. Saint Laurent's life is not enough to make a great drama. A biopic, yes, but not a drama. If the script writer should decide to explore inner thinking of Mr. Saint Laurent behind a few of his designs, and the struggle and the inspiration he had during the process, we might be getting a drama in our hands. Another lacking element was the pressure of changing decades / era. The film simply moved us from this year to another, without real insertion on what all these time changes meant. They should have brought us new challenges, fears, uncertainty, and the other world around the fashion world. There was none of it. Judging from this film alone, Mr. Saint Laurent simply floated around this world, graced upon it, and simply left. Not enough.
Review of Yves Saint Laurent
