Troubadours (Morgan Neville, 2011): USA

Reviewed by William Barton. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2011.

Morgan Neville, skilled and experienced music documentary filmmaker, recently debuted his new film Troubadours at the Sundance Film Festival. Soon, the film came along to the Santa Barbara Film Festival where the film almost immediately sold out it’s first and second showing. The theater was so packed during the second showing, that I was put in the front row on the far left side. Quite an odd way to watch a film, but it was still enjoyable. I’m sure by now, the festival has filled some of their TBA slots with Troubadours as the film seems to be gaining more and more popularity around the festival.

Centered around singer/songwriter legends James Taylor and Carole King, Troubadours documents the impact of the Los Angeles club, The Troubadour, on music history. The film focuses particularly on the late 60’s early 70’s movement of singer/songwriters that came after The Beatles had broken up and The Rolling Stones had become inactive. Artists like James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Elton John, Cheech and Chong, Steven Martin, and Joni Mitchell all got their starts at The Troubadour as the club was a “mecca” of creativity and excitement.

At times the cinematography felt like Cloverfield, as the camera person couldn’t seem to hold the camera still for very long. Documentaries often times shoot hand held and the films exude a look of realism. It also helps for quick and easy shooting to pick up the most amount of footage. It seems as though Troubadours might have taken that liberty a little too far as at times, the camera would bounce around uncontrollably and the cinematographer would rack focus on objects other the subject. For instance, in an interview with the comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, Cheech and Chong were seated together on a couch. The camera had Cheech out of focus during the interview and Chong was in focus. It seemed as though someone had witnessed a murder and they were blurred out to protect their identity.

Being born in 1990, it’s pretty difficult for me to remember what it was like back in the late 60’s. Film’s like It Might Get Loud seemed to bring younger audiences and teach them why people were excited about rock’n’roll and what the music meant to people. Troubadours didn’t give me a sense of the importance of these figures. I, myself, realize the impact these singer/songwriters had on music culture, but if someone were to watch this film and not know the impact of these singer/songwriters, they would walk out of the theater still not knowing.

While the film was an interesting account of the changing of musical history in the late 60’s, the sloppy cinematography and lack of perspective cause me to believe that this film is more suited for audiences who were around during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Troubadours seems to be a documentary aimed at those who want to remember that period of time, not at those who would like to learn about it. It was certainly a good movie if you are a big fan of Carole King of James Taylor. Overall, it was an enjoyable movie, but not quite the learning experience I’ve come to expect from a good documentary.