My inspiration for this post came from my dear, longtime blogging friend, Debbie @ Musings by an ND Domer's Mom, who is not only a gifted...
To be honest, I'm always a little apprehensive when it comes to biopics because many of them tend to take liberties by either over-embellishing on some things, or deleting other things about the person because it puts them in a not-so-great light. So at first, I wasn't all that excited to see the Netflix series, Halston. In fact, the series was released in May 2021 and I didn't see it until late September 2021.
Before I end this post, I have to share one more thing. In 1976, Halston launched the men's fragrance Halston Z-14, which I loved and owned. It was my kind of fragrance - woody, earthy, and leathery. So do you know what this crazy man did? I found out where I could buy a bottle of Z-14, which I found at Walgreens (very inexpensive) and purchased it. And then do you know what I did with it? Every night before I watched each Halston episode, I sprayed some of the cologne on my wrists and neck so that I would experience a "sense (scents) memory" from that time period. LOL!
Also, over the years I've watched two outstanding documentaries that contained archive footage of Halston, so I was already very familiar with his life and career. I mean after two documentaries, what more did I need to know about this man? And it's not even that I have an interest in fashion, I don't. I just enjoy watching documentaries about all kinds of people because I'm fascinated by how they became the person they were; the choices they made; and the paths they took. Without a doubt, documentaries are my favorite film genre.
However, I have to admit that I was still a tiny bit curious about the series because I've always enjoyed the projects I've seen by Ryan Murphy, so I thought, "Why not watch it?"
Plus, I'm a fan of Ewan McGregor and was intrigued to see how he portrayed the legendary Halston.
And can I tell you something?
McGregor was freaking PHENOMENAL!
In fact, he nailed Halston so well that there were moments when I actually forgot that I was watching Ewan and not Halston. And it wasn't that he did an "impersonation" of Halston, no, he literally BECAME Halston from the inside out. Everything about him - the way he talked; the way he moved his body; even the way he held a cigarette and smoked it was exactly like Halston. But even deeper than that, it was the feelings and emotions that were projected through Ewan's eyes that made him Halston. Ewan was able to capture Halston's soul.
It is truly a remarkable performance. And one that I'm happy to say, won McGregor an Emmy. Which in my opinion, he greatly deserved. His acceptance speech was so sincere and modest. You could tell he didn't expect to win because he was genuinely surprised, which made it even more special that he won.
Besides Ewan McGregor's portrayal, what made this series extra special were the film locations, the costumes, and the music, which were all so accurate. I lived in New York City during that time period, amid the peak of Halston's career. So the film brought back an abundance of wonderful memories of those gritty, yet explosively creative years in Manhattan.
For instance, the lobby of the infamous nightclub Studio 54 (recreated to look exactly like the original lobby) which it did because I've stood inside the Studio 54 lobby. And notice the retro 1970's clothes...
Ewan (as Halston) on the dance floor...
Another thing I admired about the biopic was that it didn't shy away from showing Halston's dark side. He was a brilliant designer who revolutionized women's fashion. But he also sabotaged his career through excessive cocaine and alcohol abuse that resulted in harmful professional decisions. In the end he lost his business and his name. The series openly shows how Halston could be quite volatile with those who worked with him. There were so many levels of Halston's personality that Ewan captured so flawlessly...
The entire cast was perfectly selected and gave stellar performances...
One of my favorite performances was by Krysta Rodriguez, who did an a-mazing job as one of Halston's closest and loyal friend's, Liza Minnelli. As with McGregor, there were moments when I forgot that I was watching Rodriquez and not Liza Minnelli...
And to show you just how detailed they were at reproducing locations, here is a photograph of Halston and Liza Minnelli in Halston's showroom in Olympic Tower at 641 Fifth Avenue, New York City, and the view of Manhattan...
And here is a photograph from the series. You can see how they even included the Twin Towers in the background. Even the windows are identical.
Here's what the bottle looks like. And I've decided to wear it all throughout this autumn and winter because it's the perfect warm fragrance for chilly weather...
In conclusion:
I can't express enough noteworthy things about this biopic, based on the novel Simply Halston by Steven Gaines. It was so good, I watched it twice. However, I will also say that the critics gave it very mixed, lukewarm reviews. But hey, I've never been one to judge something by what the critics say.
Is the biopic 100% accurate? The only factual discrepancy I found was that the original creator of Halston's first woman's fragrance, was not a woman as depicted in the biopic. It was created by a man (Bernard Chant). And I know this from being in the fragrance industry. Other than that the storyline seems to be faithful. But then again, the only one who would truthfully know that would be Halston himself. And let's be honest, even documentaries are not always 100% accurate.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and appreciated the talent and effort it took to recreate the life and career of an American fashion designer who was both ambitious and extremely complex; who's style defined an era.
And at the end, you witness how Halston came to a place of peace with his life and its ending. It's very touching.
Like all of us, we contain the positive and negative. The light and the dark.
And so it was for Roy "Halston" Frowick...
Have a grrrrreat rest of your week, everyone!
💗
*In case you're interested, you can watch the five-episode series on Netflix. Or, if you don't have Netflix (like me) you can watch it here (free and with no commercials). Enjoy!
Halston Documentaries:
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