I have seen many a fashion doc: September Issue, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Seamless, Scrath the Surface...and Picture me is by far the best. In addition to getting amazing backstage access (Most of the footage behind the scenes are filmed by the films protagonist, Sara Ziff, and her comrade/friend Caitriona Balfe...) it also boasts very honest assessments of the industry by actual top models. The narrative is set up to give you a lay of the land as to what it is to be a top model. The term "supermodel" is a misnomer given to anyone from Hooters waitresses, Hawaiian Tropics bimbos to Low Rider magazine cover models. The only true supermodels are the fab five from the early nineties: Cindy, Naomi, Christie, Linda and Claudia. Being a successful model does not give you instant name recognition. If you are stomping the catwalks of Lagerfeld, Valentino, Prada or Gucci (just to name a few)and snapped in the pages of Vogue, then you are a top model. Sara Ziff made a stellar, memorable and extremely fast rise to the top of the heap. It is astounding how down to earth and realistic she is in the midst of all this reverie. The other models she hangs with also seem in tune with reality and are bright, self aware young entrepreneurs: using beauty and charm as their product. In addition to the fun glamorous side of the business, they also delve into the dark side of modeling: the creepy photogs who exploit these girls with scary advances, incredibly challenging work/travel schedules and constant scrutiny by people who seem programmed to offend though they have no right to judge perfection. This film ends on such a high, pleasant and endearing note: you'll forget that these girls are mannequins on display...and perhaps come away from this humanizing them instead of objectifying them. Aust see for fashion-philes.
