| It goes without saying that I Am Trying to Break Your Heart will appeal to Wilco fans. However, what director Sam Jones originally envisioned as a fan-film documenting the recording of a Wilco album (2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) will appeal to fans of music films in general.
Initially intending to document the life cycle of an album, from rehearsals to recording and touring, Jones arrived at Wilco’s rehearsal loft in January of 2001 to find that one of the year’s best rock stories was being dropped into his lap. Over the course of one year, Wilco would lose two of its original members, be dropped from its label and ultimately release its most successful album to date.
Jones was given unrestricted access to the band and, as a result, was able to capture all of the drama as it unfolded. Unlike most documentaries, this is a story that is captured as it is happening. Eschewing voice-over narration, Jones wisely chooses to let the characters tell the story themselves. The film includes a lot of standard interview footage, though some of the most telling moments come as a result of Jones’s "fly on the wall" status in the Wilco camp. In one scene, Wilco manager Tony Margherita is caught while engaged in what would turn out to be one of his last conversations with higher-ups at Reprise records, and it captures the frustration that ultimately led the band to split with the label.
Another dramatic turn comes with the firing of Jay Bennett, who, along with Jeff Tweedy, founded Wilco in 1995. Though the film unfairly portrays Bennett as a somewhat disagreeable twit, he is nonetheless summarily dismissed by Tweedy, who later quips, "How do I feel about him not being in the band? I think it’s great!"
Despite all of the extraneous drama, Jones doesn’t lose focus of what drew him to the project in the first place – the music. In addition to numerous alternate takes of tracks that ended up on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the film features numerous live performances, both pre- and post-Bennett, from a band at the top of its game (the second disc in the double-DVD set consists almost entirely of concert footage).
There are also enough moments of levity to keep the film from becoming too dry. One particularly amusing scene involves a backstage "meet and greet" where a visibly uncomfortable Tweedy tolerates (barely) a gaggle of fans.
Fan: "Is your new album more like A.M. or more like Summerteeth?"
Tweedy: "It’s not like either of those albums." Cue awkward silence.
One of the film’s few flaws arises from Jones’s status as fan/filmmaker. Throughout the film he presents a seemingly endless parade of admirers – managers, journalists, lawyers, etc. – all heaping praise upon the band. While this is all well and good, odds are that if you are interested enough to watch the film, you don’t need Rolling Stone’s David Fricke telling you how good he thinks the band is. This time could have been better spent having these experts comment on, oh, I don’t know, how the corporate climate of today’s record industry could allow a critically acclaimed and relatively successful band to find itself without a home. Or whatever. Anything but more glad-handing.
These minor quibbles aside, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is a strong debut that has much to offer both Wilco fans and music fans alike.
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is now available on DVD. |
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