Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

Young musicians Karen and Richard Carpenter live with their parents in Downey, California. Richard shows great promise as a songwriter, and Karen, who plays drums, also begins singing, thrusting the duo into stardom. They become wildly successful, Karen’s striking voice and Richard’s soft melodies capturing the essence of the nation’s yearning for calm after the turbulent Sixties. 

But the perfectionist Karen becomes increasingly preoccupied with her weight, despite being slender. Eventually, she is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, a mental disease relating to stress, lack of control, and low self-esteem. 

Todd Haynes’ postmodern retelling of Carpenter’s affliction by anorexia fostered a select but vocal audience after its Toronto Film Festival premiere, but enraged Carpenter’s family and initially got the film banned. Blending archival material, artificial talking heads, and Barbie-doll reenactments, the mid-length film criticises the objectification of female celebrities.