Movie Review: Bill Cunningham New York

Bill Cunningham. Photo / Supplied

Photographer extraordinaire Bill Cunningham makes his living in the thick of the action.

Many of his subjects are the well-regarded and the self-regarding of the city he has called home for 63 of his 83 years. But he takes risks in his stride that would make many war photographers blanch.

He thinks nothing of diving into a Midtown crowd because he wants a closeup of a dress or a dog that caught his eye on a crosswalk. He gets around on a bicycle, a minnow among taxi sharks, yet somehow seems to be directing traffic. And he moves through high-society functions, alternately gladhanding and snapshooting the rich and famous.

The strikingly different milieus provide the raw material for Evening Hours and On the Street, Cunningham's two weekly spreads in the New York Times' Style section.

Such placement might seem to position him as a fashion photographer ("We all get dressed for Bill," says Vogue's Anna Wintour) but this utterly delightful portrait of the artist shows that he's really a kind of visual historian.

Tellingly, he remains at arm's length from his subjects - they're easier to focus on that way - never accepting so much as a glass of water at parties.

Richard Press, in his feature debut, has compiled a captivating film here, of a man so consumed by his work that he seems indistinguishable from it. Only once, briefly and in the film's final moments, does he give us a glimpse of the human beneath and the scene is heartstopping: but for the rest, it is a fascinating portrayal of a charming and unique personality that left me grinning for days.

Stars: 5/5
Director: Richard Press
Running time: 84 mins
Rating: PG (coarse language)
Verdict: Extra special