DbcultAccessing Vault...
5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Living on Velvet remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a thing for black-and-white melodrama and really like Kay Francis. If you’re looking for a tight, logical plot, keep walking. This is the kind of movie that assumes you’ll forgive a whole lot of bad behavior because everyone looks good in a tuxedo.
The whole thing starts with Terry Parker surviving a plane crash that kills his family. It’s supposed to be this haunting, heavy setup, but it plays out pretty fast. Next thing you know, he’s moping around, acting like the world owes him a tragedy tour.
So, Terry falls for his best friend’s girl, Amy. Gibraltar—the friend—is a saint, mostly because he just steps aside and lets them get married. It’s bizarre. You keep waiting for the fallout, or for someone to actually act like a human being, but they just sort of drift into domestic life. It’s awkward to watch, especially since the chemistry feels like it’s being held together by tape.
It reminds me a bit of the emotional exhaustion found in La course du flambeau, though without the same weight. Everything here just feels a little *light*.
The pacing is all over the map. One minute they’re in love, the next he’s being a complete jerk at a party. It’s a bit like watching someone try to drive a car with no steering wheel. You know where they’re headed, but the journey is just noise.
I found myself staring at the background extras more than the leads. There’s a scene in a restaurant where a guy in the back is clearly just pantomiming eating air. It’s the small, weird things that keep you awake, right?
The movie gets slightly better when it stops trying to be a tragedy and just accepts that it’s a mess. Don’t go in expecting a masterpiece. Just take it for what it is: a shiny, slightly broken relic. 🎩