Film Review: ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (2022): An Extraordinary Documentary About Activist and Photographer Nan Goldin

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Review

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Laura Poitras and starring Nan Goldin, David Armstrong, Marina Berio, Noemi Bonazzi, Harry Cullen, Megan Kapler, Patrick Radden Keefe, Cookie Mueller, Alex Pleus and Vittorio Scarpati.

Laura Poitras’s terrific documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, chronicles the work of activist and photographer Nan Goldin. It is remarkably intriguing from the opening moments all the way through until the end. Goldin was known for her artistic integrity and her humanity which ultimately led her to rebel against the Sackler family who owned Purdue Pharma which was responsible for many deaths due to the opiod troubles that shook the world. Poitras’s expertly edited movie demonstrates a few points about Goldin that make her come into view as an artist whose freedom of expression was admirable in a time where she faced rejection and controversy in regard to her photographs and a whole lot more.

Much of the movie discusses Nan’s sister, Barbara, a young woman who died by suicide when she was a teenager. Nan suggests her parents didn’t have children to love and nurture them but had them simply because it was expected. This film’s title derives from a report that delves into analysis of Barbara who was written off as mentally ill. However, there is evidence to suggest she wasn’t as ill as people may have thought she was. Nan’s mom was troubled, herself, and there is a lot of complexity in the themes presented to the audience in this picture especially regarding the scenes surrounding Barbara.

When the picture opens, Nan is at the MET protesting because their institution accepted financial contributions from the Sackler family and had a part of the museum bearing the Sackler name. It took several years before Nan was able to make a significant difference by revealing the tragic circumstances behind the deaths of many people who were written prescriptions that led to their tragic fates.

There are many sections that display Nan’s artwork which are interesting to watch. She created a set of photographs that helped bring into view what she is known most for: “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency.” Many of the photographs she took were of drag queens and of people in the community which would today be known as the LGBTQ+ society. Her colorful take on these people would defy the norm and create art that would be recognized later on as very realistic. Nan also displays her own sexuality and experiences which include violence that personally affected her in devastating ways.

Perhaps, the best scenes of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed revolve around the group P.A.I.N., the initials which stand for Prescription Addiction Intervention Now. When Goldin protested at the MET, prescriptions were sprinkled throughout the museum to remind those of the tremendous suffering of the families of those who were directly affected by these life-altering pieces of paper.

Goldin started out in Boston before crafting her artwork in New York City where she thrived artistically as a photographer. She personally knew Cookie Mueller who worked with the legendary director John Waters. Goldin’s work lives on and is visually stunning as it captures the humanity of the subjects it portrays. Particularly effective is Goldin’s response to the AIDS epidemic which is both heart-wrenching and vivid.

What is most moving about All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is how Goldin made the film a tribute to her sister who was unique and had the potential to live a full life, but her time in the world was unfortunately cut short. Barbara is discussed as an important driving force for Goldin and may be part of the reason, she thrived at taking her causes to the max especially in regard to calming the intensifying power of the Sackler family.

For all on Goldin’s internal suffering, she ultimately overcame her inner demons to become a powerful force with her ability to shed light on things that could have otherwise been ignored. Patrick Radden Keefe, a journalist, first shed light on the Sackler family and their attempts to try to get around their own systems of trying to profit over other people’s suffering and addictions.

Laura Poitras has crafted an amazing film that does what documentaries were intended to do and then some. While the film sheds tremendous light on Goldin’s personal goals and motivations, it also captures a period of time and a specific community that may have received little to no exposure back then if not for Goldin’s brave documentations. In the end, the saddest part of the story the picture tells is the lives that were unfairly lost along the way. This film is a tribute to their lives and the picture is, simply put, one of the best documentaries ever made.

Rating: 9.5/10

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