“American Utopia” Movie Review by Josh Davis : Pop Culture Leftovers

“American Utopia” Movie Review by Josh Davis

October 31, 2020 10:51 am |

At the start of “Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme’s seminal 1984 concert film, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne walks onto a bare stage with only a boombox and a guitar, and rips into the song “Pyscho Killer.”

Byrne was just 32 at the time and Demme was still a few years away from directing powerful Oscar-nominated films like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia,” but it’s a powerful, enduring time capsule of that band at their creative peak.

Almost 40 years later, Byrne is back with another concert film made by a visionary director, this time as a solo artist and with Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing,” “BlacKkKlansman”) at the helm.

“American Utopia” begins with a similarly stark set, this time with Byrne holding a human brain and singing “Here,” a song that closes his 2018 solo album … also called “American Utopia.”

This new movie is a live recording of a Broadway performance, combing classic Talking Heads songs with songs from Byrne’s more recent solo efforts.

It’s part performance art, sparse with Byrne always at the center, and part live concert. Rather than drum sets or big guitar amp rigs behind him, his musicians each have their instruments attached to their person. Drum sets, for instance, are deconstructed as individual parts played by several players. A few dancers and backing vocalists line up at each side. Everyone is barefoot, and in matching suits.

Byrne, here, is not unlike a church pastor. He sings the gospel of his heady blend of punk rock, funk and world music through a headset microphone, waving his arms and staring directly out into his enraptured audience.

He tells little stories in between songs, to further hook in the viewers, and to help deliver his sermon.

Byrne’s voice hasn’t aged a day and his songwriting is still as sharp and relevant as ever. His hair is, of course, much more gray. And his suits certainly fit better.

Lee’s direction captures it all from a wide angle, clean, unfussy, without quick cuts or unnecessary movements. Like the musicians themselves, he plays only what is needed through stripped down gear on a stripped down stage. Everything is in its right place.

For fans of the Talking Heads, there are plenty of classics here, from “This Must be the Place” to “Burning Down the House” to “Road to Nowhere.” Each is delivered in a familiar way, but with just enough new life breathed in.

“Once in a Lifetime,” in particular, sounds as fresh as ever, with Byrne yelping and careening about the stage like he’s 28 again. When the big, chunky electric guitar chords come in near the end of the song, Byrne and his dancers freeze like they’re being beamed back up into the spaceship that brought them all there.

Throughout the performance, the new and old material blends beautifully. “I Should Watch TV” from Byrne’s 2012 collaboration with St. Vincent leads perfectly into “Everybody’s Coming to My House” from 2018, which works so well with “Once in a Lifetime” from 1980, followed by a gorgeous version of “Glass, Concrete & Stone” from 2004.

By the time “Road to Nowhere” closes out the nearly two-hour set, the show has literally spilled out into the audience. Byrne and company march through the crowd, who are by now on their feet, clapping and part of the act, after being thoroughly elated by a masterclass of some of the best pop music of the last two centuries.

It all comes off like a well-oil machine, with world-class musicians playing world-class songs, in a movie shot by one of the finest directors of his generation.

The end result is a seamless, joyful, playful, smart, weird and masterful work of art.

For longtime fans, there’s a lot to love here. For the uninitiated, this might be the place to fall in love with your new favorite band.

PCL Rating: Tupperware

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅