摇滚史上最华丽的70年代，性感、妖艳、前卫、激进等各种大胆元素被融合成独特的摇滚流派。这场摇滚革命的代言人布莱德·斯莱德（乔纳森·莱斯·梅耶斯 Jonathan Rhys Meyers 饰）彼时倾倒众生。然而，1984年，他在一次演出中遭遇“暗杀”，巨星自此陨落。伦敦先 驱报 记者阿瑟（克里斯蒂安·贝尔 Christian Bale 饰）对自己的偶像展开调查。在回溯逝去岁月之中，却挖掘出布莱德与美国摇滚歌手库尔特·怀尔德（伊万·麦克格雷格 Ewan McGregor 饰）的一段冰火之恋。布莱德受库尔特音乐的感染，创造出自己的华丽风格，迅速走红。两人相互激发灵感、彼此迷恋，最终却因为性格冲突而决裂。风头正劲的布莱德在失去库尔特之后也开始自暴自弃，导演出一场“暗杀”剧……。阿瑟在酒吧邂逅消沉的库尔特，他仿佛被布莱德灵魂附体，他们共同沉浸在对布莱德的怀念中难以自拔，同时一种奇妙的情感在他们之间诞生。 本片获得第71届奥斯卡金像奖最佳服装设计提名、第51届戛纳电影节最佳艺术贡献奖及金棕榈奖提名。
1971: Glamrock explodes all over the world and challenges the seriousness within the flower power generation by means of glitter and brutal music. Brian Slade, a young rock star, inspires numerous teenage boys and girls to paint their nails and explore their own sexuality. In the end Slade destroys himself. Unable to escape the character role of "Maxwell Demon" that he created, he plots his own murder. When fans discover the murder is not real, his star falls abruptly and he is quickly forgotten about. 1984: Arthur, a journalist working for a New York newspaper, gets assigned the tenth anniversary story about the fake murder of Brian Slade. When Arthur was young and growing up in Manchester, he was more than a fan of Slade. Reluctantly he accepts the assignment and starts to investigate what happened to his old glamrock hero.
