Janet Bragg

I think it’s a thoughtful and sensitive film and by it’s own admission ‘might be true to life’. All Bowie fans know of his struggle to deal with his half brother’s mental illness. The fear and paranoia that stirred in Bowie fuelled much of his music. I can understand why he avoided publicly talking about it, why the hell should he? And the film draws the conclusion that because he felt compelled to hide his true emotions from his fans via the media (not through his music) that he decided to create Ziggy to hide within. Ziggy doesn’t have to deal with difficult questions, he’s an alien rockstar! I had to keep skipping back at times, the lead performance portrayed Bowie so well it was spooky! I think the film has been judged harshly. It doesn’t have any great revelations but leads your imagination into that ‘awkward’ time of Bowie’s life. Now what I’d really like to see is a film which leads on from where ‘Cracked Actor’ left. I’ve watched it so many times, I just want to see more of his soul journey producing ‘Young Americans’ with Toni Visconti and using the then unknown Luther Vandross. Bowie will always leave us wanting more...