Brian Wilson : Long Promised Road - Feb 21, 2022

[Martoto]

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Brian.../309568/#Forum



This documentary promises a rare chance to spend time with a somewhat relaxed Brian Wilson, in a sort of "car pool" interview setting and not with the usual "man held against his will" figure he often poses in more formal documentary settings. Hopefully it won't cover all too familiar ground or will at least see him being more expansive than the usual automaton responses he can seemingly only manage most of the time. (Not that you can really blame him to much for that.)

There's some hope for that to be true though as he has at very scarce times come across as just a guy who can rap about any kind of music in an often uniquely insightful way when he's not intimidated by the presence of camera crews or the pressure to play up to his mythic genius status. It may also offer a glimpse of Wilson's true sense of humour which is usually confused with his awkwardly eccentric coping mechanisms.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Martoto

Hopefully it won't cover all too familiar ground or will at least see him being more expansive than the usual automaton responses he can seemingly only manage most of the time. (Not that you can really blame him to much for that.)

[…] when he's not intimidated by the presence of camera crews

It covers a familiar narrative about the rise of the band and the life tragedies he’s come out of. His responses are never very long. He’s definitely intimidated by the camera, asking to change places or CDs, or looking awkwardly around.

My thoughts:

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Watched in Picturehouse:



As far as music documentaries go, this is quite a casual and laid back one, adopting a Carpool Karaoke formula where friend and Rolling Stone journalist Jason Fine drives Wilson around California sights from his history, while playing some of his songs in the car which he sings along to. Often, conversation isn’t direct questions, with diner talk as Wilson eats frozen yogurt. Though it might be frustrating for some - it’s surface level, limited to a handful of words without any deep insight to what he went through except from archive footage. That said, the film telegraphs that Wilson’s anxiety and mental health issues makes a typical sit down on camera interview more difficult, which is understandable. Though it could easily fall into a reality TV formula, it makes the film feel more unique even if the addition of celebrity interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Nick Jonas about his music aren’t really necessary. The narrative that the film tells is probably well known to people who have followed his music and career through the decades, but having only listened to a handful of Beach Boys songs it’s news to me. There’s some footage of Wilson performing in the studio and on tour too.