Sienna Miller embodies Edie Sedgwick with a thoroughly convincing highwire act to match Guy Pierce's incarnation of Andy Warhol in Hickenlooper's perfunctory biopic.
Factory Girl (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:110
Fresh:20
Rotten:90
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Despite a dedicated performance by Sienna Miller, Factory Girl delves only superficially into her character, and ultimately fails to tell a coherent story.
Theatrical Release:Dec 29, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $1,566,027
Synopsis: Best known for playing muse to Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick was a dazzling young socialite who found herself at the apex of the pop art scene in 1960s New York. In FACTORY GIRL, Sienna Miller is the... Best known for playing muse to Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick was a dazzling young socialite who found herself at the apex of the pop art scene in 1960s New York. In FACTORY GIRL, Sienna Miller is the enchanting, enigmatic Edie, offering a moving characterization of the extremely troubled model/actress. The film kicks off as Edie, the daughter of a well-to-do horse rancher, leaves art school and moves to Manhattan in the mid-'60s. Her friend Chuck Wein (Jimmy Fallon) introduces her to Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce), and Andy is immediately taken with the waifish, wealthy Edie. He welcomes her into his Factory, the silver aluminum-foil covered loft where an assortment of artists and oddballs assisted him with his projects. Edie quickly falls into the hard partying, drug-addled scene, starring in Andy's experimental films and becoming his constant companion. She becomes well-known for her unique style, and the fashion industry taps her as its very first "It" girl. Edie is flying high on Andy, speed, and stardom, when she happens to meet the Bob Dylan-esque "Folksinger" (Hayden Christensen). She falls in love with him, and in doing so, falls out of Andy's favor. Her drug addiction spirals out of control, her parents cut off her cash flow, and her very bright star seems to burn out almost as quickly as it rose. As with most biopics, people are sure to quibble over the accuracy of FACTORY GIRL, and whether it offers fair portrayals of so many larger-than-life cultural icons. However, viewers are sure to agree that it makes a poignant statement about the pitfalls of fame. When Warhol tells Edie's mother that her daughter is going to be "super famous", Mrs. Sedgwick coldly responds: "And what exactly would be the value of that?" Judging from the very tragic, short life of Edie, there wasn't much value in it at all. [More]
Starring: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Fallon
Starring: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Fallon, Peter Bogdanovich, Beth Grant, Illeana Douglas, Mary-Kate Olsen, Mena Suvari, Tommy Perna, Samantha Maloney, Captain Mauzner, Daniel Newman, Don Novello, Tara Summers, Alexi Wasser, Colleen Camp
Director: George Hickenlooper
Director: George Hickenlooper
Screenwriter: Captain Mauzner
Producer: Aaron Richard Golub, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
Screenwriter: Captain Mauzner
Story: Simon Monjack
Screenwriter: Aaron Richard Golub
Studio: Weinstein Company
Get This Movie
Reviews for Factory Girl
No matter how much money or blue blood a woman has, you're still just one more exploitable, disposable babe. The title Factory Girl in fact, says it all.
The least-fabulous movie imaginable about the most fabulous persona in that most fabulous of scenes, the Warhol Factory at the height of its genius and gaiety.
Neither George Hickenlooper's direction nor Captain Mauzer's screenplay is particularly compelling, presenting Warhol's world in predictable, cartoonish fashion.
Sedgwick liked attention and she liked having fun; at least the movie honors half of that.
The Warhol cosmos is too weird and complicated to lend itself to a conventional Hollywood biopic, and this one is conventional down to Warhol’s first glimpse of his future 'superstar' bouncing up and down vivaciously in tacky slow motion.
Despite an interesting turn by Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol, the movie fails to deliver any character that I could care about.
A fascinating public figure is reduced to an uninteresting, unlikeable cliche in this stylish but only fitfully entertaining biopic.
Miller gives a go-for-broke performance as the increasingly desperate and undone Sedgwick. But she lacks the fragile charisma evident in even the coarsest Warhol films, and without it there's no reason to care.
Why should we care about Edie Sedgwick? Factory Girl, fatally, can't find a reason.
Miller is wincingly good at playing up the innocence, with her junior high school declarations ('there's always hope') and the politely vacuous laugh she seems to deliver from her front teeth.
With Factory Girl, Hickenlooper has taken an icon and made her ordinary.
Want to know Sedgwick? Listen to Dylan sing 'Just Like a Woman.' That's it -- in less than five minutes.
For a film about Warhol's infamous Factory scene, this Edie Sedgwick biopic is, in some ways, depressingly conventional.
Sienna Miller remains an actress in search of a movie worthy of her talent.
Pearce's performance is assembled out of rigorously limited physical gestures and a vocal characterization that never rises above a murmur. But it's mesmerizing -- you can't take your eyes off him, and you miss him every time he leaves the scene.
"Why is this day different from all others?" is a question every Jewish family hears at the Passover seder. "Why is this biopic different from all others?" is a question that no one seems to hear in Hollywood.
Factory Girl, a biography of Edie Sedgwick, the most glamorous of Andy Warhol's so-called superstars, suggests a magazine layout masquerading as a film.
...drags through its 91 minutes,...wasting Oscar-caliber performances by Miller and Pearce.
Latest News for Factory Girl
June 20, 2008:
RT Interview: Sienna Miller on Dylan Thomas, G.I. Joe and Nottingham
The bohemian actress on The Edge of Love and her upcoming projects. More...
November 28, 2007:
Mr. Skin Reveals Top 20 Nude Scenes of 2007
In an age of fast-rising Hollywood production costs, the young actresses who strive to keep movie budgets down -- specifically in the wardrobe department -- deserve to be saluted. More...
July 30, 2007:
Frank Miller Faults Weinsteins for Sin City 2 Delay
While sitting on a Comic Con panel, Frank Miller was asked about the hold-up on Sin City 2. (Numerous times, probably.) And it looks like the celebrated author / artist /... More...
February 05, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Messengers" Scores Slim Win Over Super Bowl Weekend
With the Super Bowl taking males out of the picture, mothers and daughters squared off at the North American box office this weekend with the younger set earning a slim victory.... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Factory Girl at Rotten Tomatoes
- Factory Girl at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



