Halston (2021)

Watchseries; These are two of my favorite actors--McGregor and Pullman. What fascinated me about their performances here is the range of emotion that both evoked within me. I rooted for Halston's success; then despised his lack of moral fiber; then adored his love for the important persons in his life in the end. With Pullman's businessman character, I loved his wooing of Halston to be his creative client; then detested his sell-out for personal gain. My favorite actors made me laugh and cry as I sat transfixed for all 5 episodes in rapid succession. That is my definition of a 10-star film. The other actors were excellent--bravo and brava. I will watch all episodes again and again.

These are two of my favorite actors--McGregor and Pullman. What fascinated me about their performances here is the range of emotion that both evoked within me. I rooted for Halston's success; then despised his lack of moral fiber; then adored his love for the important persons in his life in the end. With Pullman's businessman character, I loved his wooing of Halston to be his creative client; then detested his sell-out for personal gain. My favorite actors made me laugh and cry as I sat transfixed for all 5 episodes in rapid succession. That is my definition of a 10-star film. The other actors were excellent--bravo and brava. I will watch all episodes again and again.

Halston watchseries. The performances, the fashion, the music and visuals are all awesome. The actors are so great in their parts that a lot of the time, you actually believe you're looking at the real Halston and Liza Minnelli. This was an enjoyable drama that takes you through a roller coaster of a ride, much like Mr. Halston's life.

Ewan McGregor has been playing much edgier characters since he moved to America, and Halston is probably his riskiest role to date. Ryan Murphy is usually associated with campy characters, in the case of Halston it was a man who achieved phenomenal success in an already crowded field. I must say McGregor didn't portray him as a particularly sympathetic character, with his perfectionism offset by his sleazy private life and drug taking. One wonders how much of his success came from drug taking, and also contributed to his downfall. I loved the way he devoted so much attention to each of his creations, McGregor really captured this side of his character extremely well. I hadn't really thought of him as an exceptional actor before, now I can see that he is.

I loved the fashions and the beautiful settings; I especially enjoyed the scenes he shared with Krysta Rodriguez as Liza Minnelli, otherwise most of his boyfriends I found insecure and annoying. Perhaps he was a man who inspired insecurities in others; he also seemed insecure himself. His downfall was clearly mapped out, but despite all this, he was a man who made the most of his life, however he chose to live it, and I think here Murphy has created a legend for the future. I would have scored this film a little bit higher if the script had been tighter and there had been less play on Halston's mannerisms. The cigarette smoking was endless, and almost every scene opened with him lighting up.

Nothing harder to pull off on the screen than a biopic. Everyone involved, from scripting to directing is pulled in all sorts of directions between trying to be authentic to the life of the individual concerned and achieving sufficient dramatic and narrative momentum. A few flaws here don't diminish the overall viewing satisfaction. The sex and drug stuff is given a tad too much screen time perhaps, after a couple of scenes we get it, we get it. No need to labour the point. Some of the secondary characters lack screen presence (Hugo, Elsa) but it probably doesn't matter so much because McGregor is just so nuanced and natural and layered and conflicted and convincing that watching him makes everyone else pale in comparison. Joe and Liza are also beautifully done. But McGregor is just so brilliant and sustains the characterisation so powerfully throughout the entire series that in the end it doesn't matter that we're watching a biopic, the character acquires a life of his own on the screen. He totally dominates in the best possible way.

It's rare to want to watch a biopic again, but this one I'd happily watch over and over just to enjoy McGregor's acting masterclass. Brilliant stuff. Well done Netflix.

Bold and beautiful, Halston leads viewers on an adventure through the world of fashion by taking the scenic route; showing it to us from the point of view of one of the most acclaimed designers.

Halston starts a bit rocky, however, it progressively improves throughout the episodes. We watch Roy Halston, a fashion designer in New York City, hit massive highs and massive lows. Through and through, you can feel the tension and the emotion radiating from the screen. It's perfect for what it was trying to achieve.

9/10. Definitely rewatching when I have the chance.

I hadn't actually heard of Halston before watching this, but it had me gripped from beginning to end. Excellent script, performances and pacing. Highly emotional and deeply engaging. I haven't been impressed with Ryan Murphy's other Netflix shows but this is brilliant. There's a part near the end where Cocteau Twins "Pearly Dewdrops Drop" comes on that had me in tears. One of the best shows of 2021. Highly recommended.