Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Directed by Jonathan Demme.
Starring Neil Young.
Jonathan Demme’s newest release is a straight-forward concert film of the premiere of Neil Young’s latest album Prairie Wind. Performing in his hometown of Nashville, the footage is taken from the country and folk music star’s two day residency at the Ryman Auditorium in the August of 2005. The straight-forward nature of the film will appeal to the musician’s fans keen for a front-row ticket as he performs new and classic tracks. However, Heart of Gold does little more than skim the surface of the Young mystique, and the average viewer will grow bored.
The album and concert had been constructed just days after Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and it is with this topic that Demme opens Heart of Gold. We are greeted with hand-held camera action as the 40 musicians supporting Young on stage are making their way to the show. The mood is sunny, euphoric and up-beat, in spite of the bleak subject matter, and the audience is drawn in by both the crowd and the musicians’ excitement. Young cuts a charismatic, softly spoken figure, and speaks just a few unassuming sentences before the concert begins, and we settle in.
At all times, Young and his music are centre-stage. A true family affair, the mood is jovial as the musical icon enjoys support from his wife, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and luminaries such as Emmylou Harris. Young’s strangely stirring blend of country, gospel, and deep-South Delta blues, laden with his high, floaty voice, is bewitching and, to a curious, naïve viewer like myself, help consolidate interest in the musician’s back catalogue. The sound quality is excellent and it is a wonder to experience an intimate, relaxed concert in the comfort of a darkened cinema. However, Heart of Gold will tire audiences with less than a passing interest in Neil Young, as Demme’s laid-back direction bores with its focus on the present-day. The film would have benefited from interviews with Young or his colleagues, or if an exploration into the muso’s past had been tackled.
Heart of Gold is a light, enjoyable treat for devoted aficionados of Young’s material, but the dull, uninspired direction from Demme will serve to relegate the film to the “for fans only” box.
Sarah Reid
I could just say five stars I suppose. But I probably wouldn’t get another reviewing gig. Here’s the thing: I love Neil Young. He is one pointy corner in Holy Trinity of singer-songwriters — and he just happens to be the one I’m most “into” these days. Don’t get me wrong, Dylan is great for beginners. But Young is where it’s all at. With Leonard Cohen somewhere between. This film shows us exactly why. The weight and emotional intensity of Young’s persona is mesmerising. This is a movie that relies upon the performances of the musicians, with Young clearly acting as the centrepiece.
Filmed at the premier of Young’s Prairie Wind tour, this concert-film really highlights Young’s acceptance of the fact that the world he loves is a fading, melancholic dream. In many ways he’s an evangelist-conservative. He loves the old small-farming lifestyle. And he loves old concert halls. He believes in friendship and community. But he also knows that most of these things are falling away. All of which would ordinarily sound trite if it weren’t for the fact that Young knows exactly how trite it may seem but just doesn’t care. His lyrics are simple and earnest. He doesn’t care what you think about that either. He knows the pitfalls of a self-conscious relationship with the world. He is completely content being himself, loving the things and people he loves, and sending that experience out to the world at large.
The film is masterfully shot. This is a concert-movie, not a concert-biography-documentary. Demme, who is already responsible for a seminal concert-movie (Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense), concentrates on the music and the performers. We never see the crowd, which is brilliant in a very simple sort of way because seeing the audience in a concert-film places the viewer outside the audience and the direct experience of the performance. As it was it took me several songs before I got used to the fact that I wasn’t supposed to be clapping. But damn I would have liked to. I can’t remember whether it was the first or the second song performed, but the high-point performance-wise was definitely No Wonder. Man I still get chills thinking about it.
The performance is punctuated with personal stories. Young talks about his father’s dementia and death, his love for his daughter, and prefaces Old Man with a story about the old ranch-caretaker he wrote it for. The sincerity with which each song is played makes for compelling viewing. You don’t have to be a Young fan to appreciate this film. If you watch it, and if you have any sort of musical taste at all, you’ll probably become a fan. If you already like him, it’ll be an unforgettable experience. I promise.
5/5
Shannon Burns
