Directed by Martin Scorsese
PARAMOUNT VANTAGE
Four Paws
Exclaiming that the Rolling Stones “look so old!” is about as obvious as saying that Brad Pitt still “looks so good!” However, Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese lends his classic, sharp and often poignant eye to “Shine A Light,” capturing a 2006 Stones concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that certainly doesn’t ignore the, ahem, matured age of the rock band, but manages to focus more wholly on their pure talent as live performers.
Scorsese, who also directed another seminal concert documentary, “The Last Waltz,” opens the film with quick cuts of hasty preparations in a gritty black-and-white picture, finalizing a set list and positioning the cameras. When a grip tells him the position of a light might overheat if focused in a certain way on Jagger, the director humorously says, “We cannot burn Mick Jagger. We want the effect, but we can’t burn him.”
We also get a peek into some backstage schmoozing, like when the Clintons, including Hillary’s mother, hang out and make humorously awkward small talk with the band before the show begins.
And once it begins, with the unmistakable opening chords of “Jumping Jack Flash,” the electric, captivating energy doesn’t stop. Jagger sexes up the stage, swaggering his way around just like he did 40 ““ wow ““ years ago. But this is not a pathetic, washed-up stunt wrought with denial of getting old (cough, Axl Rose, cough). Jagger definitely still has the talent and charisma to catapult the “oomph” factor of a concert, and Scorsese and his team of elite, award-winning cinematographers capture this through film.
Scorsese’s 16 cameras are not locked on Jagger though, and sharply capture the dynamic performances of Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts. The chemistry in the relationship between Jagger and Richards is famous for a reason. They weren’t called the Glimmer Twins for nothing.
The clarity also adds to the effect that makes us feel like we’re there in the modest theater, and there are times when the film feels so sharp you’ll be tempted to cheer and applaud with the on-screen audience.
Between performances of the biggest hits like “Sympathy for the Devil” and rarities like “Tears Go By” are old interviews with the band from its early years. Not only are the youthfully sassy answers hilarious, but the clips add to the pop-cultural gravitas attached to the Rolling Stones, making the concert ““ especially in collaboration with a director of such credence as Scorsese ““ feel like a significant historical event.
The only problem with “Shine A Light” is that at the end, we wish we could have been there. Fortunately, with Scorsese at the helm, the experience is nearly replicated.