Review: Halston | 2 ½  out of 4 Stars|

Halston | 2 ½  out of 4 Stars| Not Rated

By Kyle Osborne

I learned that he had a first name- it was Roy. And I learned that he was the biggest American designer of his day in the 70s, before falling prey to the two things that cut down so many talented people in the 1980s: Corporate takeovers and AIDS.

But I wanted to know more than that.

Frédéric Tcheng has directed a gorgeous bio-doc about Halston, starting with the iconic pillbox hats that went from Jackie Kennedy’s head to the nation’s collective heart. It turns out that the designer with one name had a knack, like all the greats, for self-promotion. Halston is the brand he’s selling. His bevy of runway models belong to him. He is the Emperor with all the clothes. Are we seeing the pride before the fall?

In the days just before New York would transform itself into a Studio 54 driven Sodom and Gomorrah, the handsome kid from the Heartland was ahead of the curve, feting famous folks like Liza Minelli and having his secretary take bags of cash to, apparently, buy cocaine, the drug of choice for the glitterati.

Halston is everywhere, and Tcheng has plenty of file footage to work with, including a couple of old interviews with the Maestro himself. And yet, there’s something missing. Halston is there, speaking with an affected accent that surely didn’t come from the American mid-west, and making big money deals that seem to be a prime example of “selling out to the man.” But he’s inscrutable. Is there any there there, or is he simply playing the lead in his own myth? (Comparisons to the current President might be appropriate on that score).

Since he died nearly thirty years ago, the film relies on those who knew him well. They are generous and emotional-quite good on camera. But their appearances tell us much more about themselves, and not enough about the elusive subject.

As a story arc, the rise and fall of a businessman is interesting, if not exactly original. The timeline is expertly laid out. There’s a lot to admire here. Even a sub-story about the design of the controversial perfume bottle, bearing his name on a tiny ribbon, was interesting to watch.

But what made this kid so confident? Where was his swagger born? What gave him the cojones to go up against huge conglomerates or New York institutions like Bergdorf-Goodman’s? Was he really an interesting guy to hang with? Shots of Halston and Andy Warhol only seem to reveal bored (which translates to boring) members of the privileged class, blowing smoke into the air, looking to see who’s looking at them.

You won’t be bored watching Halston, but you won’t feel that you’ve gotten too far below Halston’s perfectly tanned skin.

Halston opens June 6 in Washington DC at the E Street Cinema

 Or check for times and locations in your area here