Friday Five: Musical Biopics

We watched Rocketman last night. I thought the film was excellent, despite not really liking the music of Elton John. The more I think about it; the more I realise that the reason I like the film so much is because it is not a straightforward biopic, which follows a chronological line of singer - and then he did this; and then he did that - but which explores themes of isolation, loneliness, addiction, desire to be loved and need for self-discovery.

The narrative is explored through the music, and Dexter Fletcher's direction is sharp from the forlorn childhood experiences through the magical realism of the dances of character development to the drug-addled performance scenes and the clinical frustration of the rehab clinic. Both Taron Egerton as Elton John and Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin are excellent in their studied depiction of emotion rather than mimicry of artists, and, with the supporting cast, they create a cracker of a film.

From this, I deduce that the music of the artist is not necessarily what draws me to a biopic; it is more in the way the story is presented and the acting of the participants. No, I have not seen Bohemian Rhapsody, because the reviews I've read and the trailers I've seen do not interest me - but I will, because it won the best male actor Oscar and was nominated for the best picture. Meanwhile, here are some other musical biopics I have enjoyed (and yes, there are more than five):

24 Hour Party People

12 Musical Biopics:

1. 8 Mile (2002) - A film about a young man pushing boundaries and finding his voice, literally and metaphorically; Curtis Hanson directs Eminem playing a version of himself with some tightly-choreographed rap battles and strategically-placed moments of tension and explosion.
2. 24 Hour Party People (2002) - Manchester: my music; my era; my city; my club. With writing by Frank Cotterell Boyce and direction by Michael Winterbottom, it is as sharp and cutting a depiction of the Manchester music scene as you could hope to see. Steve Coogan captures the essence of Tony Wilson with wry bitchiness and straight-to-camera monolgues. The film is as irreverent as it is incisive as it rides the music train from punk to New Wave to acid house and the rave scene. 
3. 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) - Not only a fascinating insight into the more-than-mildly-bonkers mind of Nick Cave, but also a discourse on the transformative power of performance. Confidently directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the fusion of documentary and drama with talking heads and concert footage is absolutely excellent. It won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival; it deserved to win many more at many more.





4. Amadeus (1984) - I don't know a lot about Mozart, but I know what I like, and I like this film. It's got humour, passion, and pathos - all embodied in Peter Shaffer's adaptation of his original play and the art with which Tom Hulce (Mozart) and F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) enact the rivalry between the great composers. In an interview, Hulce claimed that he used John McEnroes's mood swings as a source of inspiration for his portrayal of Mozart's unpredictable genius. Director Milos Forman uses flashbacks, juxtapositions and anachronisms in a way that was revolutionary to me at the time (I was 13).  
5. La Bamba (1987) - The film that introduced the world to the star that shone so brightly as Lou Diamond Phillips, playing Ritchie Valens. Although I knew the music of Buddy Holly, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran and The Big Bopper (thanks, mum and dad), I didn't really know anything about their background or their tragically shortened futures. Written and directed by Luis Valdez, the film is very straightforward and borders on bland, but it provides just the right level of detail for a teen learning about musical influences and has enough energy and emphasis on camaraderie to appeal to a young adult audience. 
6. Behind the Candelabra (2013) - one of my favourite films of the year. Yes, it really is as good as everyone says it is. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are excellent. The flamboyance and excess are neatly captured with gentle ridicule but evident empathy, and confirm Liberace’s own conviction that ‘too much of a good thing is wonderful’.
7. Control (2007) - Great music; great acting (even from Samantha ‘yes, it-would-kill-me-to-smile' Morton); great directing; great city – what more can I say?
8. I'm Not There (2007) - Bob Dylan biopic with the shaggy haired folk-singer played by six different actors, to represent different aspects of his career and personality, most notably Cate Blanchett, whose performance earned her an Oscar nomination. Bits of it are inspired but it is also rather rambling and goes on too long.



9. The Pianist (2002) - Adrien Brody is spellbinding in this adaptation based on the autobiography of Polish-Jewish pianist, composer, and Holocaust-survivor, Wladyslaw Szpilman. The film was a co-production of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland, and is directed by Roman Polanski in what may be his best ever work. It is harrowing, as is to be expected with its WWII setting where concentration camps and death are ever-present, but it is also hopeful and even peculiarly uplifting. And it feels authentic. Since Polanski wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, any scene showing Brody playing was actually his playing overdubbed by recordings performed by Olejniczak. In order for Brody's playing to look like it was at the level of Szpilman's, he spent many months prior to and during the filming practising so that his keystrokes on the piano would convince viewers that Brody himself was playing
10. Shine (1996) - Directed by Scott Hicks and starring Geoffrey Rush, this film examines that fine line between musical creativity and mental illness in the person of concert pianist, David Helfgott. The device of three actors playing the pianist at different times of his life emphasises the deep and lasting effects that parental pressures can cause. There are a few mawkish moments, but overall it is sensitively handled and touching. 
11. Sid & Nancy (1986) - In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I love Gary Oldman. Even when he is playing the whiny, narcissistic, petulant punk-boy, Sid Vicious. The film, directed by Alex Cox, has a fantastic soundtrack (including Joe Strummer and The Pogues alongside The Sex Pistols, of course) and a spectacularly bleak outlook. And yet, from the filth and the futility, Oldman and Chloe Webb (as Nancy Spungen) manage to unearth a love story, which is battered into a sublime submission. This is what happens when hype overtakes talent; nobody wins but the marketing moguls. 
12. La Vie en Rose (2007) - Absolutely brilliant: great acting; great singing; great cinematography; great film. End of.

Yes, I am fully aware that only one in twelve of these focuses on a female artist; I'd be keen to hear recommendations for decent musical biopics that do. I have not yet seen The Runaways, although I intend to. I am also aware that there is a fine line between documentary and biopic (the Nick Cave one especially straddles fences, but that shouldn't come as any surprise), and that it seems people are often more interested in the 'madness' than the music. 

Friday Five: Best films of 2014

The list is fairly self-explanatory, but a couple of things to note are that I'm only including films that were actually released in 2014. I saw Still Life in 2014 and it is excellent, but its release date was 2013 (even 2012 in some places) so it can't qualify for the list. It was too hard to whittle it down to five, and, as it's my blog and I can do what I like, I kept it at seven. And they're in alphabetical order because I couldn't pick the very best.

7 of the best films from 2014:

1. 20,000 Days on Earth – Not only a fascinating insight into the more-than-mildly-bonkers mind of Nick Cave, but also a discourse on the transformative power of performance. Sharply directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the fusion of documentary and drama with talking heads and concert footage is absolutely excellent. It won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival; it deserves to win many more at many more.
2. Calvary – Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, and starring Brendan Gleeson as a good priest, this film has all the commanding scenic shots, black humour, depth of plot and characterisation you would expect. Its combination of deeply disturbing morality and theatrical reverence is both subtle and shocking, reverberating long after its short (1hour 40mins) running time.
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Sort of like a combination of Fawlty Towers, Allo Allo, and a bumbling prison escape/ murder mystery/ chase-sequence thriller: wonderfully weird, impeccably acted and every scene fantastically framed – I love this sort of description-defying stuff! Wes Anderson directs the tale of the adventures of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), the legendary concierge of a famous European hotel between the wars, and exceptional actors fall over themselves for a bit part.
4. Mr. Turner – Timothy Spall is brilliant in Mike Leigh’s earthy and grimy biopic in which humanity is ugly, and the only beauty is found in the paintings and the scenery. The film is as much about the nature of fame and celebrity as it is about art and the passing fads in the cultural consciousness. While J.M.W. Turner is the major planet around which all the other actors orbit, they all shine brightly in this firmament.
5. Nightcrawler – Excellent and disturbing film about how we get the news delivered to us in the way we deserve. Jake Gyllenhaal gives a chilling performance, Rene Russo mines the emotions behind the cut-throat news service industry, and writer/director Dan Gilroy offers up a lot to think about.
6. Paddington – Paddington Bear was one of my childhood favourites, along with Bagpus, The Clangers, The Magic Roundabout and The Herb Garden. I loved the books, I loved the TV series, and now I love the film – feel-good film of the year. Everyone gives a top-notch performance from Ben Wishaw as the voice of the bear, to Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins as Mr and Mrs Brown. Whereas Disney would have ruined it, Heyday Films, you looked after my bear. Thank you.
7. The Trip to Italy – Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are back and as brilliant as ever. Their (largely unscripted, as is director Michael Winterbottom’s wont) blokish banter of insults and continuous non-sequiturs is reminiscent of the rambles you used to have down the pub in the good old days before someone would whip out their smart phone and kill all creative discussion. The back-drop of scenic Italian countryside, gourmet meals and plush hotels is merely a bonus.