"American Utopia" -- Movie Review

  

This weekend at the Virtual 58^th New York Film Festival, I streamed the new HBO documentary, “American Utopia”, starring David Byrne and directed by Spike Lee.

Synopsis

The Broadway staging of the musical “David Byrne’s American Utopia” as shot by director Spike Lee.

Review

The Talking Heads first showed up on my radar way back in the late 1970’s, as a college freshman.  Back then, my enjoyment of the band’s music came largely because I found David Byrne to be delightfully silly.  Decades later, approaching The Medicare Generation, I still find Byrne to be delightfully silly.  But also, more profound than originally perceived in my callow youth.  Whether Byrne’s depth came through his maturity or mine is almost irrelevant; the point is that it is there to be experienced.  Although I missed “American Utopia” when it was originally on the Broadway stage, we can consider ourselves fortunate that it was recorded for all to enjoy.

If you are (were?) a fan of “The Talking Heads” and expecting a greatest hits performance in “American Utopia”, then you will be sorely disappointed.  In that case, you might be better off renting Jonathan Demme’s excellent “Stop Making Sense” to see Byrne in his clownishly oversized suit.  However, in doing so, you will miss a truly great performance by a brilliant creative mind in music.  It turns out that David Byrne still has plenty to say and there are many out there who are eager to listen.  One of the more fascinating things that are discovered in this documentary is both Byrne’s humor and his expertise as a monologist.

In “American Utopia” (a bitterly ironic title if there ever was one), you will find such classics as “Once In A Lifetime” (a personal favorite), “Burning Down The House” (which appeared to have the greatest crowd response) and “Road To Nowhere”, which closes out the performance.  Others may be somewhat lesser known (at least to the casual music fan), but it is the performance art and the staging are what make them noteworthy.  Also, Byrne’s ability to tell stories and introduce the songs provide a greater context and insight into each one. 

As for Spike Lee’s direction, it is almost flawless.  Lee never allows this documentary to feel in the least bit static; he shoots from many different camera angles and incorporates them well.  Some overhead shots are reminiscent of the late Busby Berkeley.  However, if there is one criticism, it would be the fact that there aren’t enough crowd reaction shots included during the performances.  The audience is clearly exuberant (at least, those in the orchestra seats appear to be) as they are standing throughout many of the songs.  But it’s not until the performance of “Burning Down The House” that we realize there haven’t been any reaction shots up to that point.

Byrne is not at all shy when it comes to getting political.  He talks about participating in a voter registration program and is disappointed when he reports that only 55% of eligible voters actually turn out to cast a vote for national elections and when it comes to local elections, there is a woeful turnout of only 20%.  Later in the show, Byrne performs a protest song by Janelle Monáe which is about the many African-Americans who have died over the years due to police brutality.  The moment brings a serious note into an otherwise fun experience but fails to completely interrupt the performance. 

For many years, Byrne has seemed like a distant, almost reluctant celebrity.  In his oddball creativity, he didn’t seem like one with whom a normal conversation could be had.  One of the achievements in this documentary is the fact that it humanizes him completely.  Byrne tells his own story – he is a naturalized American citizen who was brought to this country by his parents who immigrated from Scotland.  He describes how this shaped his viewpoint as an American and exclaims that America’s diversity is what has already made it great.