Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

[MacGuffin]

It's no so much a biopic as it is a character study, and a great one at that. The first hour was beautifully done, like a twisted take on "Beauty And The Beast." It was brilliant in its telling of Arbus's fascination, fear and curiousity of the "odd," being misunderstood and considered "strange." The secretive sexual perversions and how it's kept 'clothed,' shall we say, until you find that's it's okay, and someone shares your thoughts - all of that was superbly conveyed.

But once that acceptance is understood, the movie shifts and loses all mystery. The tension, drama and resistance is lost. It no longer has those elements to tell its story. In fact, the scenes between husband and wife become more interesting. This is not to say that the film takes a complete nose-dive. It still maintains a level in Arbus finding herself, I just wish that level would have stayed on par with the first half.