Whenever I feel lacking in inspiration, I watch Love, Cecil and it sends me into an inspired panic, for Cecil had achieved so much by my age (early twenties) and in comparison my work thus far (or lack of it) fills me with grief and despair. I am rather prone to the dramatic.
Love, Cecil is a wonderful documentary, most definitely in my Top 3 artist documentaries. The film follows the life and work of Oscar-winning British costume designer Cecil Beaton, from his famous work ethic to his controversial photography.
"Rupert Everett narrates designer Cecil Beaton’s diaries in Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s sympathetic study of his life and influence on British style."
- The Guardian
Between the shots of the countryside overlaid with the voice of Rupert Everett recalling the moment when Cecil first stepped foot in Ashcombe House, the glimpses of his photo albums, collages and sketchbooks and the hundreds of photographs and stories of some of the most elegant and influential people of the 20th century, I barely get 20 minutes into the film and I'm pulling out my camera from the back of the cabinet with a renewed passion for the art form.
Watch the trailer below.