This is either the ultimate David Bowie fan’s dream come true, or those who revered him the most will have their hopes dashed. At 2 ¼ hours it mostly plays like what we used to call a Midnight Movie. The more altered one’s senses are, the less likely one sees that it’s a huge bore.
The part doc, part concert film skips back and forth along Bowie’s timeline, never identifying songs or album titles, almost zero context and mostly comprised of Bowie’s disembodied voice playing under artsy visuals that remind one of an LSD party where everyone sits round and just goes, “far out, man.” The other bits consist of archival clips from Bowie’s appearances on TV chat shows over the decades.
At one point, Bowie, somewhere back in time, uses the word “indulgent” to describe something, and it was weird because that is the exact word I was thinking of for more than an hour, thanks to the editing and direction. Absolutely nothing against Bowie, who I was too young to know about during his late 60s to early 70s period. I turned 20 when the Let’s Dance album was released, and it felt like someone had made it just for me.
I loved his switch to blonde hair, smart suits, and sick beats from producer Nile Rodgers and the late great drummer, Tony Thompson . But you wouldn’t learn much more about it, other than Bowie was pleased with making “happy, positive music.”
No, 100% of the fault lies with director Brett Morgen. You won’t find a doc filmmaker with higher acclaim; indeed, this film is enjoying rhapsodic reviews and holds an approval rating around 95%.
But I sure wish he didn’t cram in 5 edits for every 10 seconds of viewing. It’s all so visually manic that it clashes with Bowie’s lifelong chill demeanor and thoughtful musings. Morgen’s film is the first ever approved by the legend’s estate, and he was given open access to the archives. An embarrassment of riches, one would think.
Two positives takeaways for me: there is a sequence where many portraits that Bowie painted, especially while living in Berlin for 3 years, and they are nothing short of amazing. I really wanted to soak in the faces that Bowie found worthy of his time and talents, but they go by in a hurry. Still, it was cool to travel down a path, separate from a music fans admiration.
Finally, it was cool to get a bit more of his psychological makeup. That would have been an area worth exploring even more.
Moonage Daydream is currently streaming on Hulu. 2 out of 4 stars
You’re absolutely right in saying that this was an ultimate Bowie fan’s dream film, which I consider myself. Like most of his music, this was more of an art piece. “Moonage Daydream” is NOT a documentary film on the life of David Bowie, but a film on the art of David Bowie. The Bowie fans who believe that Bowie was the “Let’s Dance” era, and the greatest hits collection “ChangesOneBowie” will be disappointed and bored. I loved hearing the narration very Bowie as I’ve never heard it before as well as a collection of archived footage from concerts, talk shows, and other side projects. I was lucky to catch this on the big screen opening week. Having them on IMAX screens wasn’t anything major visually, but the sound was incredible. Definitely sounded re-mastered. This is not a documentary like Rush-Beyond the Lighted Stage, a concert film like Talking Heads-Stop Making Sense, or a hybrid like The Band-The Last Waltz. This film took the essence of how Bowie projected himself as an artist over his lifetime and made it into a beautifully looking and amazing sound piece of music history.