The Walleye Magazine

David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020)

While American Utopia was originally put together by David Bryne (of Talking Heads fame) as a staged concert, a friend and critic signaled to him that the music Byrne had assembled suggested a narrative throughline. Byrne took that insight, redeveloped the show, and opened it on Broadway in 2019. He invited no less than Spike Lee to come and see a performance, whereupon Lee immediately agreed to turn it into a film. So what we experience is a hybrid, high-concept film of a staged live performance. In it, Byrne examines the “state of America”—its politics, culture, failings and strengths—with immediacy and edginess. His 20-member cast, all musicians, are constantly moving. They march, dance, and jump untethered from cables or cords in this highly percussive show. Lee’s cameras weave in, around, behind, and above the performers, keeping pace with the energy of the songs and narrative. In the smashing conclusion, Bryne invites us to join the ensemble on “A Road to Nowhere” and it seems exactly the right thing to do.

FilmTheatre

en-ca

2021-11-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thewalleye.pressreader.com/article/282011855580028

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