Opening In Australian Cinemas 26 November.
* * * * 1/2
It is a truth somewhat universally acknowledged that Stop Making Sense, Jonathan Demme’s 1984 Talking Heads concert film, is the coolest movie ever made. It’s just perfect: energetic, joyous, polished yet spontaneous, cerebral yet earthily sweaty. It makes you think and dance, and David Byrne is just the nerdiest and the coolest.
He still is, and now Spike Lee documents him in concert again (with a different, purpose-built band) in a Broadway theatre. All the above adjectives still describe the new show, and once again, Byrne demonstrates his profound ability to turn a theatre full of strangers into a community. He creates a secular church, with his greatest hits as gospel, and his parishioners raise their arms. You will too. This is an hour and forty-five minutes of joyous energy. Created, performed and filmed before the US election, there’s a strong political edge, particularly urging the audience to vote. Now that they have, we can relax a little, and enjoy the music.