The Rolling Stones are arguably the world’s greatest band. Martin Scorsese in arguably the world’s greatest director. Now, withShine A Light, the audience is shown the inner workings of these two legends in their fields.
Over the years, Scorsese has not hidden his love for The Rolling Stones. In fact, he has featured their music in his films Casino, Mean Streets, Goodfellas and The Departed. So Scorsese works perfectly as documenter for a benefit concert that The Stones put on at the Beacon Theater during their A Bigger Bang tour in 2006. The film starts with Scorsese stressing out about how he does not know the set list and how he is not sure how to handle this. But even though Scorsese only receives the set list seconds before the curtain rises, he shows a steady hand that seems to almost control the direction of the concert. When the concert starts, it starts off with a “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, and Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood take the stage and instantly, they own the audience. Scorsese intertwines the various songs with stock footage that shows the young Stones. These clips show the naiveté of the young Stones and how they never expected success this big; when a young Mick Jagger is interviewed after two years of success and is asked how much longer he thinks they will be doing this, he comments, “I think we’ve got another good year in us.” However when it comes to performing, Shine A Light shows that The Stones have only gotten better with age.
The unusually small venue for the show makes the concert an intimate affair for both the band and the audience. But The Stones, with the help of Scorsese, are able to draw in the audience in the movie theater just as much as the concert audience. Each song builds and builds and the excitement never dies down. Cameos from Jack White and Christina Aguilera help keep the excitement, but everyone bows down to the real stars of the show. But Buddy Guy’s performance with The Stones on the Muddy Water’s song “Champagne & Reefer” is quite possible the best performance of the night. Guy and Richards start a battle of the guitars as they riff off each other, equally impressed by the other, until Richards eventually gives his guitar to Guy, a sign of who is the true winner. The night concludes with three of the bands strongest songs: “Start Me Up”, “Brown Sugar” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. Even though they save some of their best for last, each song performed seems like a hit with the audience.
Scorsese shows an immense respect for The Rolling Stones, much like he did with The Band in The Last Waltz and in No Direction Home with Bob Dylan. He shows through performance and flashback The Stones’ phenomenal career over the years and that they are not even close to stopping. Shine A Light shows that the Rolling Stones are not just band mates, they are friends, they are brothers, they are legends. Scorsese engages fans and non-fans alike and makes a beautifully introspective look at The Stones’ lives. Shine A Light is not just fun, in fact it’s a gas.
Rating: A-
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