Monday, September 16, 2024

Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Fields (2023) opens Friday


A Look at the life of Patricia Field, the costume designer, stylist and shop owner best known for her work on SEX IN THE CITY.

Seemingly made to tie into the recently released autobiography of Field, the film is largely a look at Field working on several TV series, working on her book and visiting with friends. It's a film that is very much in the now. 

That the film is really is mostly focused on the now is a large wound in the film. While we see snippets of the past and there is discussions of her family and long lost friends, most of what we see is Field working on her present projects. She does not look back and doesn't make any effort to link the present to the past, Field is simply moving ahead. After a while the fact that neither Field nor the filmmakers don't look back, nor seek to give context or explain what we do see and hear beyond talking about SEX AND THE CITY makes this film kind of dull. 

Worse it all remains unordered. All sorts of people are mentioned but unless they appear there is zero attempt to explain who they are. Her family life is only fleetingly mentioned. Anyone who is dead or out of her life are phantoms. More damning there is no order to her past its all thrown together into a lump. It's like sitting talking to someone as they throw random tales from their life at you without rhyme or reason. Without an order or a context there is no reason to see this story other than to listen to people say how wonderful she is.

While not really a bad film, Field is a sweet woman, but I have no idea why we are being told this story.

For friends of Patricia Field only

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