Don’t look for meaning commonly called “the best concert film ever made”. But is this really so?
(Spoiler: yes, it is.)
There are many films that document more historic concerts (Woodstock, The Last Waltz, Monterey Pop). There are many things that reflect the career of an iconic artist and the culture that surrounded him at a certain point in time (Film “The Grateful Dead”, Madonna: truth or dare). And there are probably some who preserve perhaps better results for posterity.
But this movie part of the equation that sets Don’t look for meaning separately. And in this newly restored version of Jonathan Demme’s 1984 masterpiece, the perfect combination of Talking Heads’ brilliantly kinetic, intensely tense performances and Demme’s keen cinematic eye is even more evident.
Filmed over three nights in December 1983 at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, the band performs a greatest hits setlist with David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth, backed by the incredible Bernie Worrell, three backing singers and a guitarist. Alex Weir and percussionist Steve Scales. Of course, it doesn’t start out that way: the film famously opens with a shot of Byrne’s feet as he walks across the stage alone, sets up a tape recorder and says, “I have a tape that I want to play for you.” He then performs the band’s first hit, “Psycho Killer”. Over the next few tunes, he is joined on stage by the rest of the band until the full ensemble is assembled.
This meeting and its focus on Byrne as the indispensable core of the group hint at the tensions that the Heads were experiencing at the time. Don’t look for meaning was made. Byrne admitted that he was a “little tyrant” in those days, imposing his creative dictates on the other three members. He apparently felt he was outgrowing the band at the time, and to be fair, his creative flowering after Talking Heads broke up in 1991 stands in stark contrast to the trajectories of Harrison, Frantz and Weymouth. Either way, this is a chance to see them at the top of their game. (And it was interesting to watch the foursome, making their first public appearance since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, as they promoted this reissue. They still seem to have some lingering wounds.)
Since art school, the group gradually added more polyrhythmic, soulful elements and Don’t look for meaning conveys the excellent friction of this combination. Byrne’s movements are carefully choreographed, his costumes (including the iconic Big Suit) specially chosen, his theatrical mannerisms. And yet he sweats. He is running. He’s anything but some New Wave robot. He’s having fun. In my opinion, this is the source of the magic of Byrne and this film: the blending of the Apollonian and the Dionysian into something that can move from the stunning, sing-song pace of “Once in a Lifetime” to the tenderness of “It’s Meant to Be.” Be the Place” to the sheer transcendence of “Take Me to the River” without skipping a beat.
Despite everything going on in the scene, Demme makes the brilliant decision to focus the camera on this exact spot. One of the reasons Don’t look for meaning What makes “the best concert film ever made” is that it centers on the concert. There is virtually no crowd footage, no backstage footage, no banter or commentary from the performers. Demme’s direction is clean and almost minimalist, liberating rather than restrictive.
Nothing I’ve said so far should be news to anyone who’s seen this movie before. What is New is the ability to enjoy a stunningly remastered soundtrack and pristine graphics on a colossal IMAX screen. Close-ups of Byrne’s face take on an almost overwhelming height, the sound mix makes it easy to distinguish individual players, and the sensory envelope of the entire experience borders on the religious. Somewhere like Cinema 21 or the Hollywood Theater would still be an amazing experience, but we’re hoping Portland will host big-screen shows.
I have seen Don’t look for meaning already in theaters twice (including a 15th anniversary re-release in 1999). Both times people screamed, cheered and danced in the aisles. And this was in the antiseptic environment of the Regal/Act III movie theater. So get out there and sweat, it’s the least you can do. (Opens Thursday, September 28 at select locations.)
WE’RE ALSO OPENING
Fair: Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are newly engaged lovers who keep their relationship a secret at work due to a strict no-fraternization policy. Work is the shiny steel-gray offices of a financial trading firm. When a firm’s second employee is abruptly fired, the conventional wisdom is that Luke will replace him. But perhaps you saw it coming, Emily gets an unexpected nod. Writer-director Chloe Dumont shows a steady hand in her feature debut, exploring the gender dynamics that threaten to undermine the happiness of this perfect couple. Notably, neither of them are clear victims or villains, and it’s okay to root against both of them because they profit from planet-killing late-stage capitalism. (Salem Cinema, Netflix, Friday, October 6)
Flora and son: The mother (Eva Hewson) of a troubled Irish teenager (Oren Kinlan) gives him a discarded guitar in the hopes that it will give him something to do. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a handsome online guitar teacher in the latest ode to the transformative power of music from writer-director John Carney (Ounces, Sing Street). (Salem Cinema, also streaming on Apple TV+)
Creator: In the future, a Special Forces agent (John David Washington) is tasked with tracking down an artificial intelligence that could end the war between humans and computers. From this standard plot, early reviews make a surprisingly powerful and stunning sci-fi thriller from director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Unfortunately, not shown to local critics. (Multiple theaters)
Dumb Money: The absurd story of Game Stop stock market mania gets a Hollywood treatment, with Paul Dano playing an underdog, Seth Rogen a billionaire, and other familiar faces including Nick Offerman, Shailene Woodley and Pete Davidson. Not shown to local critics. (Cinema 21, Laurelhurst Theater, Regal Fox Tower and others)
Sponsors
Rebel: When a Syrian expat in Belgium decides to put his life in order by returning to his homeland to help victims of the civil war, he ends up enlisting in ISIS and engaging in a series of harrowing encounters. (Cinemagic)
FRIDAY
- Sabrina has nothing against teenage witches in 1992. Craft (Academy, lasts all week)
- Fresh from the world premiere of a local weird horror festival. Evil Babylon The story is about a Christian race car driver who dies and goes to the afterlife with a very gender fluid character (Clinton Street).
- David Bowie scares Jennifer Connelly (and the rest of us) in 1982. Labyrinth (Academy, lasts all week)
- The 26th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival allows audiences around the world to vote for their favorite from among ten finalists (Clinton Street, Eugene Art House, Salem Cinema, Egyptian Theater in Coos Bay).
SATURDAY
- An innovative epic action film from Brazil. God’s city (Cinemagic, also Sunday)
- James Dean proves why he’s fucking James Dean in a big-screen epic East of Eden (Cinema 21)
- Documentary Finding her rhythm spotlight on female taiko drummers (Hollywood)
- Martin Scorsese’s breakthrough Mean Streets (Hollywood, 35 mm)
SUNDAY
- 2012 baroque vampire film directed by Neil Jordan Byzantium (Hollywood)
MONDAY
- Portland Latin Film Festival presents coming-of-age story sister and sisterwhich follows two Costa Rican siblings who travel to Panama for summer vacation in search of their absent father (Hollywood).
- Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1932 minimalist horror classic. A vampire (Clinton Street)
TUESDAY
- A drug-dealing witch finds Magic Cop there’s too much to handle in this 1990 Hong Kong B movie (Hollywood)
WEDNESDAY
- An alien cat teams up with a writer to battle evil demons in the 1992 Hong Kong cult classic. Cat (Cinemagic)
- JJ Abrams is rebooting the legendary 2009 franchise Star Trek (Hollywood)
THURSDAY
- One of the most bizarre horror sequels in history, 1982. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Hollywood)
- Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989. Holy Blood (Clinton Street)