There is some great coverage of Townes Van Zandt, both interviewed and in performance, but the film fails to get under the skin of the man. His obsessively egotistical approach to his life, work and play (at the expense of his wives and children) is simply accepted for what it was and there is very little speculation as to whether it was Townes' background or something intrinsic in the make up of great musicians that made him thus. It might have been interesting to compare him to other singer-songwriters from similar backgrounds who have followed the same path (Woody Guthrie immediately springs to mind). What we have is some nice archival commentary and some rather fulsome comments from his friends, but you come away not feeling you know Townes any better than you did before.
The most touching comment comes from his younger son, who chokes as he tells us that tuned into his fathers music, immediately turned his back on rap and found a new perspective on both his father and his own musical understanding. I almost expected him to say "I have put away childish things".
One more niggle, but it is a complaint I have about the filming of guitar players generally - why do the directors never focus on the fingers? You get at most a couple of bars and then they cut away to a facial expression or to a mid-shot of the band. More guitar-playing directors needed I think.
The most touching comment comes from his younger son, who chokes as he tells us that tuned into his fathers music, immediately turned his back on rap and found a new perspective on both his father and his own musical understanding. I almost expected him to say "I have put away childish things".
One more niggle, but it is a complaint I have about the filming of guitar players generally - why do the directors never focus on the fingers? You get at most a couple of bars and then they cut away to a facial expression or to a mid-shot of the band. More guitar-playing directors needed I think.