TIFF 2020 — American Utopia. David Byrne has always been an…
By: Ryan Vienneau
Tags: David Byrne, Documentary, Film, Talking Heads, Music

David Byrne has always been an idiosyncratic figure. A musician, filmmaker, artist, author, and label executive, Byrne has always brought his unique viewpoint and catalogue of references to everything that he is a part of. His Broadway production American Utopia is no exception, drawing on Dadaism, James Baldwin, Janelle Monáe, and many of his main thematic obsessions like capitalism, conformity, and the joy of the mundane. He weaves all of this in an energetic and unforgettable celebration of movement, music, and the connections we feel with our fellow human beings.

Spike Lee’s American Utopia could be boiled down to simply being a filmed version of that same live show, however, using filmic language and techniques, it ultimately becomes so much more. Lee’s camera energetically follows the performers around the stage, providing the audience with a much more personal sensation, becoming one with the performers themselves. The audience of the film is able to see the performance from angels which a theatre audience could never experience. A particularly striking example of this being an overhead shot looking down at the stage, allowing the audience to fully appreciate Annie-B Parson’s incredible choreography.

The film mostly follows the structure of the stage production, following each of the numbers as they progress. Starting with Here, the closer from Byrne’s album also titled American Utopia. We begin with Byrne, alone on the stage barefoot and dressed in a grey suit. As the song progresses, more and more people are brought onto the stage: dancers, percussionists, guitarists and more. All of these individuals are untethered, amplifying their instruments wirelessly, and are free to move around the stage however they need. This makes the film very movement and dance centric, as Lee is able to capture all of these individual performers’ actions in a more minute detail than is afforded to a typical audience member. Each gesture can be captured specifically, and the faces of the performers can be viewed up close, allowing the audience to see the expressions they give to each other as well as the viewers in the theatre. This in turn allows the film audience to have a more personal connection to the performers on stage whereas it would not be as apparent in seeing the live performance.

The music of the film is also superb. Byrne runs through most of the songs off the American Utopia album, but also includes many classic Talking Heads hits. Highlights include the softer This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), the afro-beat inspired Born Under Punches, and the seminal hit Once in a Lifetime. Every song is perfectly chosen, and fits the joyous and energetic tone of the show itself. A particular highlight of the show is when the band launches into the Talking Heads breakout hit Burning Down the House. It’s during this scene where we really start to get shots of the audience dancing themselves. One particular shot of the stage features many audience members in the front row silhouetted, some jumping up and moving to the music, some raising their arms to the heavens as the band plays in front of them. The shot is magical and connects well with the overarching theme of connection through creative expression. The work of these artists connect with their audience on such a visceral level and it just has to be expressed through grand gestures and movement. This is in direct contrast to Jonathan Demme’s classic Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, which deliberately shrouded it’s audience focusing solely on the performers themselves. By making the audience more present in his film, Lee is able to get across the sense of community you get from seeing live music in a way that is lost in most concert films.

Before one of the final songs of the film, Byrne begins a monologue, as he has already done multiple times so far in the film, about the next song. He states that it is not his own, but instead a cover of a song by Janelle Monáe. Byrne discusses how he wondered whether or not he should perform this song, and if he is the right person to do it justice,the right voice to be heard, before revealing that Monáe said to him that the song was for everyone. The band then starts to perform Hell You Talmbout, a track specifically about the unjust murder of black people by police officers and vigilantes in the United States. As the song invokes the names of the people have been killed, Lee cuts to images of the people being mentioned. When able, he depicts members of the victims families staring directly at the camera as they hold these images. The effect is incredibly moving, especially as the song starts to reach its conclusion and Lee includes images of more recent victims of police including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. The final title card of the song includes dozens of more names that could not be mentioned and in all capital letters the words “AND MANY MORE!” Though the entire show has a political bent, this is where it is at its most explicit and effective. Lee is able to use cinematic language by cutting to the faces of these people, and showing them as people, rather than just names. This effectively builds on the groundwork of the show, making one of the most memorable and beautiful scenes in the film.

American Utopia is a celebratory film, celebrating music, movement, life, and empathy. It’s also a call to action, for people to understand, for people to rise up against injustice, and for people to create something to share with the world. The joy that everyone involved with the production expresses is infectious and can spread to those already familiar with the work of David Byrne, along with those who have never heard of him before. It’s a film that rises from the concert film stereotype and in turn creates something beautiful and mesmerizing.