Nico, 1988

Christa Päffgen, better known as Nico, was raised in the rubble of postwar Berlin but grew up to become a 20th-century icon. Modelling first got her noticed, leading to acting roles in the likes of Fellini's La Dolce Vita), but cult fame was assured when Andy Warhol put her together with the Velvet Underground to sing on one of the seminal albums of the 1960s. Susanna Nicchiarelli's film makes only oblique references to those past glories, focusing instead on the last two years of her life. Living in dingy digs in Manchester in the 1980s, Nico is now a heroin addict, tortured by the separation from her only child, and eking out a solo career playing her material in small clubs. Danish actress Trine Dyrholm captures the mournful monotone of Nico's voice perfectly, offering a complex and well-rounded portrayal of a damaged individual moving through life with fearless abandon. John Gordon Sinclair's accent wanders a little as her besotted new manager, but he taps into a very British sense of awkwardness that simply adds to Nico's bohemian allure. Nico, 1988 is more of a character piece than a fact-led biography, but it offers a fascinating study of a flawed yet uncompromising artist and her turbulent life.