Ah A groundbreaking artist who turned the lens on her own life, documenting the fantastical and fragile nocturnal world of Boston drag queens, drawn to the fringes of society, curating and art shows about AIDS. She rocked the world and supported her photography.Nan Goldin is a fascinating subject for documentaries even before she declares war on one of America’s most powerful families. ), what enhances this compelling Oscar-nominated documentary is citizen four) skillfully combines Goldin’s biography and creative history with details of the Sackler family behind OxyContin, the art world philanthropists, pharmaceutical billionaires, and even her crusade against the opioid crisis. am.
Goldin herself was prescribed OxyContin to ease her pain, and she says she quickly became addicted to the drug, in terse candor evident throughout the film. She founded the advocacy group Her Pain (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) as part of an effort to challenge the “reputation washing” of Sackler’s name through large donations to museums and galleries. A moving and courageous act of a woman who has more to lose than anyone else by trying to face the world of art. Poitras gives footage of Goldin’s protests and secret meetings a nervous tension that’s not out of place in a political thriller. What is clear from this film, vividly detailing the cultural context and work of Goldin, is that fear was never part of Goldin’s vocabulary, creatively or personally.
