Taking Woodstock
If you're expecting a film that features the generational landmark that Woodstock was, you won't find it here. Set in 1969, "Taking Woodstock" takes us back to the summer of love in Bethel, New York. Rather than recounting the event itself, "Taking Woodstock" focuses on the true story of Elliot Tiber (Teichberg in the film), a soft spoken young man who paved the way for the Woodstock Festival to take place. "Taking Woodstock" is based on the memoir by the same name, written by Elliot Tiber in 2007.
In the summer of '69, Woodstock concert promoters were in search of a new hosting ground for the festival after being run out of their original location in Wallkill, New York. Elliot stepped up to the plate, offering the promoters 15 acres of his land and a permit which he initially obtained to hold a chamber music concert festival. The land was too small to hold the event, so Elliot suggested his neighbor, Max Yasgur's, farm land instead. And just like that, history was made on Yasgur's farm.
Demetri Martin, who is best known for his stand up comedy routine, plays the character of Elliot Teichberg. However, Martin's performance falls flat when paired on screen with the likes of Eugene Levy, Emile Hirsch and a cross-dressing Liev Schreiber. The ensemble in the film is quite unique and quirky, yet their chemistry jives together perfectly. If nothing else, "Taking Woodstock" is worth watching solely to see Liev Schreiber (who was last seen on screen as Sabretooth in "Wolverine") in a lavender dress.
"Taking Woodstock" is made up of a mosaic of characters, unfortunately none of them include actors portraying the actual performers from Woodstock - Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, or Jerry Garcia. While the film is certainly not about that aspect of Woodstock, it would have added an outstanding dimension to the movie. In fact, the audience never even gets a good look at the Woodstock stage until the end of the film. This occurs after the festival is over, and the site looks to be nothing more than a pit of mud.
The story here is not so much about the Woodstock music festival itself (even though everyone knows that's what all the fuss is about) but rather, the focal point of the film is Elliot's family. His listless, complicated and overbearing parents evolve and become genuinely closer and full of life after the dust of Woodstock has settled.
Overall, the film was decent and put together very artistically by director Ang Lee. He captured the psychedelic feel of the '60s so well, that you often wonder if some of the footage was pulled from someone's home movie collection. With that said, "Taking Woodstock" still leaves much to be desired. Although it was overflowing with hippies, drugs, peace and love - little attention was given to the event of Woodstock itself. It would have been nice to give the audience a peek into Ang Lee's created version of Woodstock.