Picture Me: A Model's Diary (2009)

Sara Ziff is the unlikely supermodel covered in this documentary.  With girl next door good looks, Sara and her filmmaker boyfriend, Ole track Sara's rise to international model in this fascinating documentary.  Recorded over a few years, Picture Me pulls the curtain back on the glamorous world of modeling.

Picture Me is fascinating.  What makes it interesting is Sara herself.  The young woman is torn between the incredible opportunities presented by the business of modeling (money, fame, travel) and security of pursing higher education.  She decides to ride her star as far as it will take her.  The film documents the highs (paychecks, people, clothes) and lows (exhaustion, exploitation, working conditions) and the ultimate toll it takes on the women who pursue a career in modeling.  Sara's endearing manor and the honesty of her peers is insightful.  Whether on the catwalk or at a photoshoot, these girls all want the same thing: security--they just happened to choose modeling as a career.

As I see it, Picture Me won't incite reform like Sinclair's The Jungle, but it does provide an interesting and often critical look at the industry.