Blackt.net

by Eric Marsh

Rating: A

Once upon a time, or rather, in 1984, Jonathan Demme got together with a band to shoot a concert at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. This band was The Talking Heads, led by the enigmatic visionary of a front-man David Byrne. Together, with rigorous planning and blocking, stark composition and brilliant camera work, and boundless energy, they created Stop Making Sense, the greatest concert film of all time.

Twenty two years later, Demme’s back in the concert saddle, and this time, with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young. Returning to the country-rock style of his 1972 album Harvest, Young performed his new album and a slew of favorites over a few days at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in August of 2005.

On one hand, Demme certainely hasn’t lost his eye for composition and his ability to catch the most interesting and sincere moments of the shows with his camera. Teamed with cinematographer Ellen Kuras (cinematographer on the recently released Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, among other things), they create an overwhelmingly personal portrait of Young. What Stop Making Sense had in it’s high key lighting and playfulness of dark/light shadows, Heart of Gold has in it’s naturalistic lighting and gold color scheme. The film is beautiful, and excels additionally in it’s rhythic pacing.

On the other hand, we have Neil Young. The concert was performed several weeks before Young was to head into the hospital for surgery on a brain aneurysm. The album, Prairie Wind, was also written after having found this news out. It’s no surprise as to the tone of the film, like the album, is very reflective and somber — though Young hits every note with every last bit of hope. Young and his band play through songs of his new album, many of which are accompanied by short stories about them — and this is where the film shines — Young’s personability. Whether talking about his daughter who’s away at college or his father who had suffered from dementia, Young always remains funny and thoughtful, and you can feel his compassion through the dialogue and the performance alike.

Neil Young: Heart of Gold was exactly as I had imagined to be — and this isn’t a bad thing. The film is wonderfully shot and edited at the hands of the veteran Demme, and Young’s performance is about as good as it gets (for Neil Young…at this age). I wouldn’t be surprised to see cynics regard this film as “lifeless” or “boring” or both, but they’d be wrong. Heart of Gold is as good as a concert film gets, ranking up there (but slightly below) the likes of Stop Making Sense and The Last Waltz. It’s a must-see for any fan of Neil Young, and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to everyone else, too. [103 minutes. PG. Paramount Classics]

[Neil Young rocks out in the very amber setting of
Heart of Gold]