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Shine a Light

I’d like to say congratulations to Martin Scorcese and The Rolling Stones for living up to my expectations in the new concert film, Shine a Light. The problem is, my expectations were quite low.

Scorcese is the brilliant director that brought us The Last Waltz, a concert film that documented the last performance of The Band, complete with guests like Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, etc. Though Waltz was not without its share of cheese, The Band were still in their prime when they decided to call it quits, and their songs were fresh and heartfelt.

The Rolling Stones are a museum of natural history. There’s no way Mick Jagger can’t get no satisfaction; “Brown Sugar” sounds less like an adventure and more like a confessional. Suffice it to say that the Stones, though they used to be the very definition of rock n’ roll, no longer “do it” for me.

I hoped that a collaboration with Scorcese would help to highlight what the Stones have still got, but even Marty is not free from blame. The film maintains consistent close-up shots of individuals, cutting relentlessly from shot to shot, as if one steady frame of the band as a whole would not be interesting enough to maintain the viewer’s interest. Instead, we get lots of low angle shots, looking up at Jagger’s weather-worn face, as if he is some untouchable rock god, when instead he’s merely a senior citizen who’s stayed in impeccable shape in order to be able to parody his former self for millions of dollars. His moves are blatantly choreographed and predetermined, eliminating any sense of rock n’ roll spontaneity and excitement. He self-consciously puffs his lips out of his head, trying to capture his former sexiness, and ends up looking like some kind of deepwater sea creature. Not to mention Keith, who seems to struggle with each guitar riff with shaky fingers.

If you want to see this movie, certainly do not see it on IMAX like I did. On the enormous IMAX high-definition screen, it felt like I could have crawled deep inside the crevices on Keith Richards’s face and hidden there for the remainder of the show. Needless to say, I could not.

The best parts of this show were the segments from early interviews, with Mick’s baby face and Keith’s obnoxious interview responses, when the Stones were still cool. The other highlight was Buddy Guy on the cover of Muddy Waters’s “Champagne and Reefer.” Christina Aguilera, though a great singer, was mismatched with the song she sang with the band (“Live with Me,” off of the album Let It Bleed), and Jack White was just bad on the normally incredible tune, “Loving Cup.”

Jagger threw in a few cuss words and marijuana references to remind audiences that this is still the Stones, the counterculture bad-boy-Beatles that you remember from the '60s. Well, guess what, guys? Cursing is no longer even close to rebellious since NWA in the '80s, and even the presidential candidates all admit to having smoked weed when they were younger. Heck, that stuff will probably be legal within 10 years. The Rolling Stones are no longer The Rolling Stones, but instead, a silly parody that’s making about a million bucks for every crooked smile and Chuck Berry guitar riff. Shine a Light was not an enjoyable experience for me.

Written by: Sam Belkin

Reviewers Rating: 4
Reader's Rating: 2.00
Reader's Votes: 1

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