- Director: Mary Harron
- AMG Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Period Film, Feminist Film
- Themes: Writer's Life, Bohemian Life, Down on Their Luck
- Main Cast: Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Lothaire Bluteau, Martha Plimpton, Stephen Dorff
- Release Year: 1996
- Country: UK/US
- Run Time: 106 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The true story of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist who became notorious after shooting art world icon Andy Warhol, is portrayed in this fact-based drama. In an attempt to present a fair assessment of her actions, writer-director Mary Harron focuses on Solanas' troubled life, from her childhood as an abuse victim to her life as teenage prostitute in New York City. These experiences left Solanas (played by Lili Taylor) deeply scarred, contributing to a hatred of men that later found full flower in her famous "SCUM Manifesto," an extremist tract calling for the establishment of a "Society for Cutting Up Men." Deeply troubled, she nevertheless briefly finds hope after befriending young transvestite Candy Darling (played by Stephen Dorff) and discovering herself on the fringes of the wild, colorful world surrounding the eccentric Warhol. She becomes obsessed with the idea that Warhol's support could change her life, only to become violently enraged when the artist and his friends begin to turn away from her. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie GuideReview
Mary Harron's debut, a modern period piece, nails what New York City in general, and Andy Warhol's factory in particular, looked and felt like in the late '60s. Assisting Harron in her recreation of the period are the stellar performances of Lili Taylor as Solanas and Jared Harris as Warhol. Taylor invests Solanas with a gritty intelligence and a sense of reckless danger. One gets the impression that the character really did write the funny, vengeful snippets she reads from The SCUM Manifesto. Harris captures Warhol's feigned boredom that masked a puppet master's control over his surroundings. His last scene, in which he is startled because he believes he sees Solanas, shows how far the character has fallen from his feelings of aloof impenetrability. Having plunged the audience into the physical and psychological reality in which these characters existed, viewers begin to understand the surreal logic of Warhol's "star system," Solanas' creation of The SCUM Manifesto, and the casual cruelty of almost everybody involved in that scene. As the behavior of the characters grows more outlandish, the viewer can understand why. That one might find what Solanas did understandable is the great accomplishment of I Shot Andy Warhol.~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Cast
- Lili Taylor - Valerie Solanas
- Jared Harris - Andy Warhol
- Lothaire Bluteau - Maurice Girodias
- Martha Plimpton - Stevie
- Stephen Dorff - Candy Darling
