Greetings,
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is another movie about which I had reservations when it came to reviewing it this week. In this case, though, it is because this might be considered less of a documentary and more of a concert movie, since it was based on a concert that took place in Sydney in 2005. But there is so much info about Leonard Cohen himself here, his life and career, that I think it fits the bill.
As I said, there was a tribute concert entitled Came So Far For Beauty that was filmed, I believe, over two nights at the Sydney Opera House. There were several performances by artists who, sadly, I don't think many people have heard of. Not to say they are not talented, but I just don't think any of them are uber-popular, especially in America. But we will get to those performances later.
Let's start with "the man" himself, Leonard Cohen. While the concert was a good thread to hold the film together, I was quite interested in the interviews and past footage that were interspersed throughout. Leonard Cohen graciously took part in the filming of this documentary, agreeing to be interviewed about many of the aspects of his fascinating life. Of course, there were very good conversations with those who have known and worked with him as well, but I found it best to hear it directly from him. Speaking of Leonard Cohen's . . . well, speaking, it truly shows his gift for words that transcends what he puts into his lyrics and poetry. He literally speaks as though what he is saying was written, prepared and beautifully edited in advance, but all of this just flows from him as naturally as his breath. Not only were we privileged enough to hear him speak, but we were also treated to SEE his written work, as well as some of his visual art. All of this was perfectly edited and a great compliment to what was being said as we watched.
Okay, let me talk about the concert and the performances therein. I would call Leonard Cohen the perfect artist to be covered. Even he has said that he does not have the best voice, and, as much of an admirer as I am, I agree. His voice has always been a little monotonous, more so, since he has gotten older to the point where he basically talks his way through his lyrics over music. And that is fine with me, because it is his writing that has always been his greatest strength. So because he does not have this overwhelmingly wonderful singing voice, it is fairly easy for a singer to perform these songs and put their own twist on them. In my opinion, each cover of one of his songs sounds different from the others. I think it's because he gives us the base on which we can vocally build something for ourselves.
The performances here, for the most part, do not disappoint. Some of my favorites are a powerful duet between Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen of the song "Anthem" and a haunting rendition of "Sisters of Mercy" by Beth Orton. But the best of these was a performance of one of Cohen's most beautiful songs, "Tonight Will Be Fine" by Teddy Thompson. I had never heard of this guy before, but now I absolutely love him, and it is this performance I use to rope people into seeing the film. I literally tell them to just hang on until this scene. Even if you don't get into the film that much, which I find impossible, just hang on until you hear him sing this song. It will be worth it.
Now of all the artists featured, there is one that everyone will know - U2. They did not take part in the concert, but they do perform "Tower of Song" along with Mr. Cohen at the end of the film, so I guess that makes it a partial cover. While on the subject of U2, Bono and the Edge were also two of the people interviewed in the film. Admittedly, while I like a lot of U2's music, I am not the biggest fan of Bono. He just talks sooooo much. Fortunately for him, here, he speaks so highly of Leonard Cohen that I was okay with listening and even agreeing.
If you are already an admirer of Leonard Cohen, then this is a film you should certainly see. If you're someone who has always known simply in passing about Leonard Cohen but has wanted to know more, this would be a great way to start. Personally, this film has been an absolute inspiration to me as a writer, so I would also highly recommend it to other writers. We can learn a lot from Mr. Cohen. One thing I appreciate that he always says is that being a writer is, in fact, work. It is a job. It is a profession, whether you are paid for it or not. Again, as a writer and someone whose work is regularly belittled as being not "real" work, I love that he always reminds the world of what exactly goes into what we do. And he is absolutely right.
To finish, and though I hesitate to say this, I think it was actually Bono who summed Leonard Cohen up the best. After speaking highly of Cohen's own humility, the final statement of the film is Bono simply saying, "The rest of us would be very humbled by the stuff he throws away". I cannot disagree.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
