As a huge David Bowie fan, I highly anticipated my reactions to the new film Moonage Daydream directed by Brett Morgan. The film was lauded at Cannes, and close to being over-hyped. I got all dressed up, for David, pulling out my vintage 1970s Harrods Opera coat. I stuffed three tissues in its pocket – for I would surely cry. Morgan has a very romantic style, and I count his Rolling Stones Crossfire Hurricane documentary as the best-ever Rolling Stones portrayal, and there are so many to choose from. Viewing Moonage Daydream at a local theatre, the gorgeous Cheltenham Tivoli, was a real treat, despite the usual 15-minute-plus subjection to previews of the latest, predominantly Hollywood merde. I was audibly moaning as I usually do, and vowed to myself that from now on I am not entering the theatre until the feature I chose to watch is on.
I didn’t need my tissues during the film and only twice came close. I’ll start with praising what is great about this film. Moonage Daydream reminded me of what I hate about nearly all “rockumentary” of the past 30 years, because it isn’t that! I nearly forgot! The MTV style of rock n roll documentaries must be killed, and thrown into the trash heap forevermore, and I pray that Moonage Daydream can be a turning point, or at least a catalyst for banishing the non-artistic, dumbed-down, easy-way-out for a director to splash what should be his artistic expression of a personal (or even for-hire) portrayal of our music idols. The time-line tradition, which I cannot blame MTV for more, with the usual talking heads (yawn), must die. Yes, I myself have been featured doing this and even being an Associate Producer – Rolling Stone: Life and Death of Brian Jones – but I really did “forget”! However, that film is thematically a police/murder story so doesn’t lend itself too much to artistry. Also, I am a fan of Danny Garcia because of the intriguing subjects he pulls out to cover. When the current style of rockumentary, perhaps loosely influenced by 1973’s A Film About Jimi Hendrix, but without that film’s artful scenes, cuts and cast of true artistic characters (Germain Greer, Pat Hartley for example), first emerged, I remember my younger self hating them. Loathing the portrayal of artists in such a simple boring way. So what might disappoint fans, and those of us (all), who are used to the traditional style of the past few decades, is what we need. We need to think, and to feel. We need portrayals of artists to try to capture the essence of what we love about musicians who’ve floated to the top of pop culture. The everyman doesn’t know why he loves David Bowie, or The Rolling Stones, and historical facts have little to do with it, and I think that is, perhaps subconsciously, why we watch these documentaries. There is well-deserved kudos to David Bowie’s wife and family for giving their blessings to a unique documentary for theatrical release. The evidence of not necessarily needing or wanting a safe and fan-friendly, talking- head filled common documentary for publicity, record sales and self-aggrandisement is noticed loud and clear – and appreciated. This is another true testimony to David’s wisdom – in choosing his mate.
There are no narrative mentions of songs, or albums, or collaborators in this film. All of that information is already out there. There is a tour de force of wall to wall music, which astonishingly can’t and doesn’t cover all and most popular Bowie songs, which in itself is telling you something. There are images, including clips from stage and screen. They’re not explained, so to speak, as if to an outsider or hungry fan. The scenes are presented making you an insider, to the psyche of David Bowie. So what we are left with is an impression, in every sense of the word, more than a technical education. Director Peter Whitehead is called to mind instantly, and I’d be sure Brett Morgan is influenced by Whitehead’s work. As a thinker, and an artist myself, I found that the question then is – does this film “Lay The Real Thing On Me”? In its attempt, the film is very much a psychological documentary and a spiritual one. This is a wise an imperative road to take for a documentary on any true artist, not only David Bowie.
The psychological message was clear: self-analysis is key for David, and that it should be for everyone. David speaks about idolizing his older brother. However, I wish there would have been more insight in to the theory that his brother was committed to a mental hospital because of dosing with LSD. I’d love to know why David always ignored this factual truth. I ponder if ignoring the LSD is valid or merely to do with David’s own romanticism with mental illness.
We must remember how difficult it is to make a “great” movie. Great efforts have failed. It takes so much, including the intangible: magic (vs. “magick”—blessings vs. will). Brett Morgan is the King of the ‘montage’. Moonage Daydream I feel has one or two too many. Do we really need to be reminded of the Tina Turner/Bowie Pepsi advertisement? I was happy to forget about it, and no attempt of injecting it into a truly artistic film, is going to make it appealing to The Universe or at least any critical mind. Had Morgan cut this and perhaps one other montage, the film would be that much less montage-heavy. Historical timings are to and fro, which is fine, but then balance has to be achieved somewhere. Order in chaos, Brett? Montage is wonderful, and it definitely lends itself to David Bowie, more so than The Rolling Stones, but none done here can match his LSD montage in Crossfire Hurricane.
Despite several references to “life” and all that life is, and it being declared the main motivator of David Bowie, this film is very dark. It is a spiritual film, yet it is spiritually imbalanced and there is so much evidence that David had that balance. There are mentions of David’s own astrology in his own voice, which I gobbled up. However, there are about four visuals signifying Aleister Crowley in this film. Really? David mentions AC in a lyric, (which makes the cut here in this film), pronouncing his name wrong, so, ummm, no. I had to wonder if this is Brett Morgan injecting his own trip here, as directors do. Oliver Stone heavily includes his own ‘bent’ in his films. Or maybe Brett Morgan thinks the deluded Crowley mystique adds nice touches. In tapping into David’s spiritual psyche, this film comes off as dark, and practically anti-Christian as if deliberately. Is that accurate? No, it isn’t. Personally I’ve always wondered why for example, David Bowie chose 5 minutes before going onstage, in front of one of the largest audiences he ever had (Freddie Mercury Tribute), to recite the Lord’s Prayer on bended knee. “….just before I went on stage, something just told me to say the Lord’s Prayer.” – DB But remarkably you’d never believe he did that, if you didn’t know, and watched this film. What a great opportunity missed there, to have shown that event – even in an unexplained glimpse! The juxtaposition would have been accurate. And there is no allusion to David’s last word and premonition on these subjects: “look up here I’m in Heaven”. A clip of Bowie saying he never asked Jesus for anything makes the cut here, but David forgot that he did ask him to “make him five”. A brilliant poetic queston he might have asked as the elder Bowie, I wouldn’t doubt.
In David Bowie’s own words: “Looking at what I have done in my life, in retrospect so much of what I thought was adventurism was searching for my tenuous connetion with God. I was always investigating, always looking into why religions worked andwhat it was people found in them. And I was always fluctuating from one set of beliefs to another until a very low point in the mid-Seventies where I developed a fascination with black magic… And although I’m sure there was a satanic lead pulling me towards it, it wasn’t a search for evil. It was in the hope that the signs might lead me somewhere.” Arena Magazine 1993
An inaccurate portrayal of an important subject, David’s spirituality (which is a centrepiece in this great film which is equal parts psychological and artistic documentary), didn’t ruin the film for me but it deeply flawed it. Fans may think they dislike this film because it’s unusual, and they want their MTV. But I dare say if fans dislike it, they may not really know why. That is the nature of magic, (just the way they may not know why they love David Bowie). The reason why fans or non-fans may dislike or not love this film, could be because David is presented a tad demonic – who woulda thunk that? Nobody.
My personal two moments of emotion was the well placed ‘Rock n Roll Suicide’ and the ending of the film, which, for me and my spirit, struggled, yet succeeded in making it all right with the spiritual balance issue. A perhaps subliminal or unintended Christ message: “The sun machine is coming down and we’re going to have a party.” What an incredibly poignant and spiritual ending. Of course we are. I will be buying the dvd. As far as the claims that this is Brett Morgan’s best film yet, I conclude it misses the perfection of Crossfire Hurricane.
Roxanne Fontana
September 2022