The Best Part of “Moss & Freud” Is When It’s Over
Hyperallergic reviewed the 2025 film Moss & Freud, directed by James Lucas, portraying a friendship between supermodel Kate Moss and painter Lucian Freud, and argued that the movie romanticizes an exploitative artist–muse dynamic. The review describes the film as a glossy, shallow “buddy” story in which Moss (played by Ellie Bamber) is framed as seeking sobriety and Freud (played by Derek Jacobi) as a “Great Man” who claims to see the “truth” in young women, including through a nude-portrait proposition. It highlights scenes set at London’s National Gallery referencing Titian’s Diana and Actaeon (1556–59) and notes the film’s early-2000s nostalgia, while concluding that its dialogue and characterization are hackneyed. The piece also situates the film amid broader cultural commentary, mentioning events like Condé Nast print magazine closures and Venice Biennale controversies as part of its framing.
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This story was covered in Biennial Blowups and Gallery Model Meltdowns