Film Reviews

Shine A Light

• Rating:
• Director: Martin Scorsese
• Starring: Keith Richards
• Details: US / UK / 121mins (12A).

Does everything come full circle? Do those who rail against the establishment eventually cuddle into its warm bosom? 21 years after Mick Jagger was arrested for drug possession, he's shaking hands with Bill Clinton, who's delighted to tell him that his 11-year-old nephew will be coming to the gig. I guess so. Some may quibble at Mick and co. for still strutting their wrinkly stuff in their 60s, but The Stones started out emulating old blues heroes with odd names like Blind Dead Jefferson and Three-Fingered Luscious Brown - so why can't they do the same? Scorsese shot this concert film from The Stones's Bigger Bang Tour of 2006 over two nights, but apart from his name on the credits and his appearance at the outset where he's trying hard to get a stubborn band to name their set list, there's nothing to suggest that a major director is behind the camera. He does intervene in the subtlest of ways, however: not content to just roll the cameras and let the boys do their stuff, Marty cranks up the sound of whoever is in close up - if Mick is front and centre, the vocals take over; if it's Richards, the guitar volume is amplified and so on. The director also enjoys slipping in old interviews from the '60s, '70s and '80s every two songs. But this is a tease of the worst kind: although The Stones are still out there doing it, they never did it like they did it then, and I was sitting there wishing I was watching that documentary instead of this one. It's got energy and it's fun, but for my money, Stop Making Sense is still the best concert film around. Jack White, Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy venture on stage for a duet each, while old hits like Jumpin' Jack Flash and Sympathy For The Devil take second place to new tunes.

Review by Gavin Burke