15, 121 mins

The clever spin that Steven Shainberg applies to Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is not to treat the material like a biopic at all. In fact it would be difficult to attribute a single frame of this quirky fantasy to Patricia Bosworth’s earnest biography if it wasn’t for the title credits. This is a genuinely novel way to explore a life that has famously eluded any conventional covers. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it is the male director of Secretary who has painted this almost feminist fairytale of Arbus.

Nicole Kidman is the pinched and lonely wife, Diane (pronounced Dee-Anne). Her sensible husband makes a living by photographing kitsch adverts for catalogues. Diane’s rich and stifling parents provide the biggest contracts via the fur trade. “I take light-readings and iron clothes,” explains Diane to a studio full of bored clients. You could choke on the tedium.

The arrival of a mysterious masked stranger in the large apartment above sparks a bizarre and touching fable. It rapidly transpires that Robert Downey Jr has retired as the main attraction from a freak show. He is carpeted from head to foot in hair; a genetic accident has made him capable of winning Crufts.

The beautiful Diane is mesmerised by this beast. A sharp, almost sexual, desire to photograph him opens a metaphorical door. Downey’s huge brown eyes and sophisticated manners are the disarming tools. His freakery empowers Diane. His life on the fringe (with weird and misshapen friends to match) is a terrific source of visual drama. Nothing needs to be spelled out. What Shainberg captures on film is as familiar as the Brothers Grimm, and yet as strange as David Lynch. Diane’s art is to make it feel normal. It drives her loyal husband (Ty Burrell) and her two confused young daughters to a distraction bordering on despair.

Kidman delivers another standout performance, transparent and magnetic. Burrell is no match for Downey’s hypnotic beast. The hairy romantic chemistry with Kidman is electric, the context inspired.

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