Shine a Light

Rating: ****

For a lot of people, this may be as close as you ever get to being in the audience for an actual Rolling Stones concert. But that’s okay, with a film like Shine a Light, you don’t have to be, because seeing this work is just about as good as being there, especially if you’re seeing it on the big screen. And who better than Martin Scorsese, for whom the Stones have been an invaluable source of implied attitude and machismo in his films for years, to bring the ultimate Stones concert experience to the screen in all the super group’s glory.

It’s a concert film basically, 95 per cent of the film is live concert footage from a two-night performance of the band at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on October 29th and November 1st, 2006. But Scorsese also works in some archival footage if interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, mostly about their longevity and how the long the boys can keep on rocking like they do from as far back as the 60s.

But from all appearances in the film, the Stones (the youngest of whom is 61) have no problem finding the high energy needed to put on a huge rock concert. There’s spectacle, there’s showmanship, there’re special guests – everything you could possibly expect from a Stones concert but for the price of a movie ticket instead of the adjusted for inflation cost of a scalper. Naturally, the Stones play heavy on the classics: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, “Satisfaction”. They also played “Loving Cup” with Jack White, “Live with Me” accompanied by Christina Aguilera, and Muddy Waters’ “Champagne and Reefer” with Buddy Guy. No “Gimme Shelter” though, which for a Scorsese movie is surprising.

The film starts with a black and white sequence that shows the concert preparations; Scorsese trying to control the set-up situation at the theatre in New York, while Mick and the boys make it difficult while on the road for him to finish planning. This semi-fictionalized scene adds a real touch of humour especially as Scorsese tries to get the final playlist out of the Stones. This opening, along with all the vignettes, helped break up the music nicely. Just as the film starts to drag a little, Scorsese throws in an interview bit or something else and it re-energizes the viewer for the next set.

Ultimately though, Shine a Light is still just a concert film, but fortunately it’s a concert film par excellence. They don’t get much better than the Stones when it comes to a live show, and there’s no better person than the director of The Last Waltz to capture all the action. The film gets right in their faces, and despite their age and the jokes that follow, the Rolling Stones still know how to put on one heckuva show. Shine a Light is the next best thing to being there.