Documentary Takes a Look at Modeling Throughout the Years
I was flipping through the channels - like I usually do on a week night when I want to unwind - and remembered hearing about this documentary airing on HBO about models. I really didn't know what it entailed, but the premise sounded interesting enough. I'd never really thought much about what a model's life was like...
In About Face (directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders), viewers get a firsthand account of life growing up, growing into and growing out of the model world. For the most part, a model's life is anything but glamorous-especially for the ground-breakers of the 40s (even into the early 80s). Some of the older models reveal that early on, they had to hustle through the crowded room of buyers and try not to have their clothing touched. For many of them, they were simply the "hanger."
Various models of years past sit down over the course of the doc, and share their intimate details of life and the pressures of staying thin, getting involved in drugs, overcoming racial obstacles and growing past their prime (are they for or against Botox, etc.).
While all of the stories are very interesting (and some, very funny), they only scratch the surface of what could have been a really meaty doc. The subject is so vague, perhaps it should have been split into a few parts-rightfully giving focus and depth to each subject.
I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to others who have a half-interest or full-blown passion in fashion history. Models have certainly come a long way, but it's still a tough business (a business I do not envy after watching this doc).
