NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD
Directed by: Jonathan Demme.
Produced by: Jonathan Demme & Ilona Herzberg.
Director of Photography: Ellen Kuras.
Edited by: Andy Keir.
Released by: Paramount Classics.
Country of Origin: USA. 103 min. Rated: PG.
With: Neil Young & Emmylou Harris.

Rock legend Neil Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in the spring of 2005. Facing mortality head on, Young decided to do what he does best. He wrote music. The product was his most recent album, Prairie Wind. Filmed over two nights at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium last suumer, the first half of this filmed concert features that album’s music, while the rest is a mix from Young’s classic albums, such as Harvest and Harvest Moon.

Director Jonathan Demme is no stranger to the concert film, having directed the also fantastic Stop Making Sense, about new wave progenitors the Talking Heads. Demme uses many of the same techniques he perfected in that film. The first shot of the concert shows the enormity of the stage but by adeptly utilizing close-up shots, Demme makes the performance seem downright intimate, as if Young and his band are playing only for you. While Young is, for good reason, the film’s focus, Demme never stays too long on one performer, cutting back and forth between Young and his band mates, never allowing performances to become stagnant and permitting the audience to marvel at the bands’ virtuosity.

In his pre-concert interview, Young says he prefers to work with friends, as opposed to studio wizards, and it shows. His band’s onstage chemistry is electric and it looks like they not only enjoy playing together but really enjoy each other’s company. Young, a man of few words, keeps his stage banter to a minimum but when he does speak, he is incredibly candid and poignant, touching upon the love he has for his daughter and his recently deceased father. When Young flashes a smile at the camera, his seemingly cold exterior melts. Being first and foremost a concert film, those who are not fans of the singer/songwriter need not apply. But Young is such a captivating performer that even those unfamiliar with the Young oeuvre may find themselves with a new favorite. Molly Eichel
February 10, 2006