Synopsis
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbor catches Diane's eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry.
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Cast
- Nicole KidmanDiane Arbus
- Robert Downey Jr.Lionel Sweeney
- Ty BurrellAllan Arbus
- Harris YulinDavid Nemerov
- Jane AlexanderGertrude Nemerov
- Emmy ClarkeGrace Arbus
- Genevieve McCarthySophie Arbus
- Boris McGiverJack Henry
- Marceline HugotTippa Henry
- Mary DuffyAlthea
Recommendations
- 80
L.A. Weekly
Much of the film is as strange and oddly beautiful as one of Arbus' own photographs, bold in its attempt to find new ways of cracking the biopic chestnut and sensitive in its portrayal of a 1950s woman who, like so many of her contemporaries, finds herself imprisoned in a "Good Housekeeping" nightmare. - 63
ReelViews
This is a Beauty & the Beast romance between Nicole Kidman and Chewbacca. - 60
Variety
Picture is impressively crafted and acted but far too narrowly and benignly conceived to satisfy even on its own terms. - 50
Rolling Stone
Downey makes something lively, sexy and moving out of a role that's just a thin concept. But the movie feels like it's still in the darkroom. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Fur is a misfire by the talented people who four years ago gave us "Secretary," whose tongue-in-cheek approach might have served this film better, taking the edge off much of its pretensions. - 50
New York Magazine (Vulture)
The tall, cool Kidman works hard to impersonate a woman possessed, but she's not the type of actress to fill in a role that hasn't been filled in on paper. - 50
The New Yorker
Wilson and the director, Steven Shainberg, draw on Arbus's family and on many elements from her life and her art, only to turn the material into feeble nonsense. - 50
Village Voice
A misguided tribute to the woman his (Shainberg's) film identifies among "the greatest artists of the 20th century."
