The Murder of Jean Seberg
Daphne Guinness writhes around in couture, again.
Serial slashie James Franco faces some stiff competition in Daphne Guinness. In between collecting haute couture and playing dead for a jewellery collaboration, the socialite/artist/actress/stylist/too many other things to list found time to star in a new made-for-the-net art film by Joseph Lally. Titled The Murder of Jean Seberg, the film is a dreamy, hour-long interpretation of the American actress' cinematic legacy, haunting beauty and tragic demise.
The film 8 jumpy black and white footage (including a clip of the actual car Seberg died in) interspersed with colourful shots of Guinness and her co-star Michael Brager writhing around in beautiful clothing and overacting, respectively. There are also shots of hooded Ku Klux Klan figures and a broadcast announcing the death of Martin Luther King, a reference to Seberg's support of the anti-racism Black Panther Party. Other parts of film are harder to interpret, and become particularly trippy when the same broadcasts start repeating themselves in warped, robotic voices. But, as the director takes the trouble to remind viewers, this film is based on a dream he had about Jean Seberg rather than being a documentary about her life.
Usually your dreams are something that other people don't actually care to have you narrate to them about despite how fantastically demented they might have seemed in your own mind, but this one is well worth paying attention to. Just make sure your laptop charger is plugged in and you've got one of the comfiest swivel chairs in the office.
Words: Hannah Ongley.
