I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

Art-house darling Lili Taylor (THE ADDICTION, FOUR ROOMS) gives a 
command performance as Valerie Solanas, the woman who shot and 
wounded Andy Warhol on June 3, 1968.  The actress disappears so 
completely into her character-- a chain-smoking, college-educated, 
bag-lady lesbian who was also a prostitute, a playwright, and both
the founder and the sole member of the Society for Cutting Up Men 
(S.C.U.M.)-- that we're rarely distracted by such details as the 
meandering story, or the odd absence of locked doors in certain 
scenes, or, even, the question of who will get lung cancer first:  
Ms. Taylor or former art-house darling Jennifer Jason Leigh.  

The other great performance is from Jared Harris (DEAD MAN, BLUE IN 
THE FACE), who plays Mr. Warhol.  He's fascinating.  Compelling as 
both a character study and a snapshot of late-'60's Manhattan 
counter-culture, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL still begs the question of 
"what's the point?"  We don't get a sense of the bigger picture, 
which may explain the mild laughter that erupts when the closing 
credits note that Ms. Solanas' "S.C.U.M. Manifesto" is a "feminist 
classic."  Of course, maybe that *is* the point.  (Rated "R"/100 
min.)

Grade: B- 

Copyright 1996 by Michael J. Legeros

Originally posted on triangle.movies in MOVIE HELL: June 16, 1996