If you’ve ever wanted to grab a Rolling Stone’s wrinkly face by the chops and pull it near, have a good inspection, this is probably the closest you’ll come to doing so. You can look inside Mick Jagger’s mouth and see his fillings for example, or study the curious manner in which his top lip moves up and down that rack of teeth upon certain words. Of course such closeness and such sights may disgust you and I can sympathise. But such is this up close and personal experience of a Rolling Stones concert presented in the massive IMAX format.
That screen really is big. It’s all encompassing and director Martin Scorsese makes the most of it with what seems like a million cameras swooping, twisting, turning around the auditorium. Scorsese doesn’t do things by halves and I can’t think of, nor hardly imagine, a more intensely covered live performance on film.
After a behind-the-scenes type introduction, and besides brief interludes of the band in more youthful days, Shine A Light settles into a long concert of songs spanning the Rolling Stone’s career (the event is organised for Bill Clinton and a fund raiser for some climate change organisation).
Concert films are a strange breed. A live performance doesn’t really translate that well to film. Part of the joy of a good concert is its immediacy and the fact you are right there as its happening. And I’ve always found films of gigs not dissimilar to the experience of someone telling me about one; it’s a tad boring, and generally makes me envious I wasn’t there in person.
Your enjoyment of Shine A Light will come down to your interest in seeing the Stones now. This is not the band in their brash, wide-eyed prime, and they attempt to compensate with a ‘show’ not just a concert. They have a massive support cast – with backing singers, keyboardists, others on guitars and bass, a brass section, and cameos from Jack White, Buddy Guy (a highlight) and Christina Aguilera (a lowlight). Quite simply, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood are all real old. They’re not like my or your grandpa, but they are grandpas. They are cool, but they’re cool geriatrics. This is not to say they lack enthusiasm or vitality on stage, in fact the film is really a testament to both their longevity and what old people can do. It made me feel lazy as hell.
My interest peaked at the snippets of the band in their youth, being precocious, argumentative or clearly on drugs. This is the Rolling Stones I love. But presuming you’re going for the pensioners show, the energy of the cinematography and the IMAX format provide the next best thing to being there.
