Gia - Der Preis der Schönheit

I rented the unrated version from NetFlix.

Gia is a powerful movie. It is two stories intertwined into one: the life of a confused teenage girl, looking for love and acceptance, and of the modeling industry and its effect on the emotions and egos (no matter how large or small) of those in front of the camera. As a woman who worked within the industry several years ago, I could relate to the confusion that Gia felt.

Angelina Jolie gave the viewer an excellent portrayal of a lonely teenage girl who was trapped inside an adult woman, her only comfort being her lover and later, her drugs.

The performances of the actresses were on target; the message was clear. A haunting movie worth purchasing.

This movie is your typical "How deviant sex and drugs ruined a successful person's life" films we typically get out of television (shades of the Hayes office!). However, Angelina manages to do what many actors fail to do: take a basically unsympathetic character and make you feel sorry for her. I think the role of Mercedes Rhuel has also not been emphasized enough. Throughout the entire film she presented a highly sympathetic, charismatic persona as the mother who could not quick kick her gosling out of the nest. Gia was not a product of the times--she and others like her were the times.

When Cindy Crawford first entered the modeling world, she was dubbed, "Baby Gia." Her likeness to the model that was beyond perfection was what helped boost her career. Crawford, knew little about Carangi and her struggle.

When Stephen Fried published Thing of Beauty in 1993, he shed light on the exotic beauty known as Gia. He exposed the dark side of modeling, and showed the world the rise and fall of one of the most beautiful girls to ever live.

The movie Gia, is based of Fried's book. However, the movie takes several liberties. Gia's lover, "Linda", is based of Sandy Linter, a make-up artist in which Gia wooed and dated. Gia also dated a women by the name of Alyssa (she used the alias "Rochelle" in Fried's book). The writers combined these two loves, however, down played Alyssa's personality and character.

Gia's "journals" never existed. She did keep date books, too keep track of her appointments, and occasionally wrote things, but she never had an extensive amount of journals like the movie portrays. Gia's time in rehab is also downplayed.

Without a doubt, the movie is good, but if you want to know more about Gia, check out the book.

Angelina Jolie is a natural fit to play Gia Carangi.

Both were rebellious growing up. Gia was a punk teenager in Philadelphia who headed off to New York in the late 1970s and soon became a top fashion model under agent Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway.)

Success was swift and in the heady days of the early 1980s. She became a supermodel, was openly lesbian/bisexual, did lots of drugs. Unfortunately she was one of the first famous women to die of Aids in 1986.

Co-writer and director Michael Cristofer gives this movie a docudrama approach. It has talking heads discussing aspects of Gia's life.

Gia was undoubtedly a brash woman, she had relationship issues with a girlfriend and a complex relationship with her mother.

Despite being artily shot, some nudity from Ms Jolie. It comes across as another rise and fall true life movie.

At times it just felt skin deep and a bit camp. Nothing about the pressures of the fashion industry where drug use is regarded as common.

The taboo aspects of Aids in the 1980s is dealt with. It should had been a movie that amounted to something more. Jolie certainly showed why she was regarded as a rising star.

A tremendous biography of a supermodel, Gia Carangi. Her beauty graced magazines profusely in the late 70's. She knew as a little girl just how attractive she was. Her short life dealt with defiance of authority, lesbianism, love/hate relationships, drug addiction and AIDS.

Angelina Jolie was excellent as Gia. Her profanity, nudity and lesbian love scenes scorch the screen. Ranking among the best on film. Also in this eye opener is Elizabeth Mitchell, Mercedes Ruehl and Faye Dunaway.

With all the violence, nudity and profanity; can not believe this is rated R instead of X. But I am not complaining. This is a tragic story about a complicated life. A very interesting bio.