Amazon.com video review:
There's a reason why Cindy Crawford was
dubbed "Baby Gia" when she first hit the modeling scene. Indeed,
Crawford, now the world's best-known supermodel, greatly resembled
model Gia Carangi, who went from high school to the cover of British
Vogue in less than two years. Carangi appeared on many more
covers of Vogue (French, British, Italian, and American) and
Cosmopolitan before dying of complications from AIDs (she was
an IV heroin user) in 1986. Now most people recognize Carangi's name from
this powerful HBO film that stars Golden Globe-winner Angelina Jolie,
who comes by her talent honestly. Jolie is the daughter of veteran
actor Jon Voight, and her own training as a model serves her well--she
has the moves. Throughout, she's heartbreaking--as no doubt the real Carangi
was--effective, and stunning.
With good source material (Stephen Fried's A Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of
Supermodel Gia), Jolie's stunning performance, and strong directing by
Michael Cristofer, the movie goes beyond the merely sensational. The
script was cowritten by Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney, whose
Bright Lights, Big City covers similar territory. As a
cautionary tale, Gia works. But to watch Jolie in her character's
tragic self-destruction is utterly compelling. --N.F. Mendoza
