Seeing "Not Fade Away" leaves one wanting more. More of something, a resolution to be sure...but more of a fleshed out insight into the main characters. There's plenty to ponder and little to grab hold off. The question of why make the film was easier. Because Steven Van Zant loves music and film and he has the means, and friends, to make a movie revolving around the art forms he cherishes.
There is quite a lot to love however thin the story itself may be. First, there's the depiction of an era where rock and roll became the voice of a generation. The 60's are realistically brought to the screen in sight through spot-on wardrobes, scenery, automobiles...as well as some of the best rock music ever recorded no less. The cast looks as if they are truly imported from 1965 too. The cast is a mix of known and unknowns who all perform well, yet no one is used to their fullest potential. The overall feel is accomplished by showcasing the turmoil as a constant background: changing moires, a war in a foreign land dividing a population, the taking hold of the so-called "generation-gap" between those coming of age and their elders, and finally the widening gap between the lower middle-class and upper-class. The cinematography is bright even while the feel is decidedly darker.
The story revolves around the aspiring rocker Douglas choosing to follow his muse instead of college with the division at home it causes. As a geek becoming his own person he finds new confidence, even getting the girl who he never had a chance with in high school. Things are not all rosy though. Besides the gap between his parents, Douglas faces differences within the band which constantly threaten to splinter the group even while they enjoy a small degree of success. Also, he has to face his father being diagnosed with cancer. Douglas wears his concerns facially as he rarely smiles, or laughs, except in the company of his girl friend the striking Grace played by Bella Heathcote. Douglas seems somewhat oblivious to the couple's wide gap in looks (she's Paris runway ready, he's a miniature young Howard Stern) or social class, apparently he believes their love of the arts bridges what once kept them at length when they were adolescents. Douglas may style himself as a free-thinker, but at heart he still believes in true love and faithfulness.
Douglas experiences some disappointing obstacles in the road to musical glory. As a result decides upon leaving it all with a new goal of moving to L.A. where his girlfriend can attend UC Berkeley and he can dive into his love of music and film at it's epicenter. Things seem to take a bad turn immediately at a Hollywood party on his first night. He looses the girl (to Mick Jagger?) and abruptly the movie ends. It's a strange open ending which in a way that implies as a rocker Douglas may still...survive?...Because rock and roll will never die and to prove it there's a lovely girl in go-go attire dancing in the middle of a deserted Sunset Boulevard as the quite possibly homeless Douglass is seen in the distance walking away?
O.K., I admit this is "arty" end, but whatever class I'm from for the life of me I'm not sure the hell it is the director/writers is telling me? Not Fade Away seems to be a meandering unfocused movie yet it isn't a failure. It's quite entertaining in spite of itself. For someone who experienced some of the sixties myself (younger than the characters in the film) I enjoyed revisiting a time of profound change, with a wonderful soundtrack and a great original song that fit too! Well worth a look if you keep your expectations guarded.
There is quite a lot to love however thin the story itself may be. First, there's the depiction of an era where rock and roll became the voice of a generation. The 60's are realistically brought to the screen in sight through spot-on wardrobes, scenery, automobiles...as well as some of the best rock music ever recorded no less. The cast looks as if they are truly imported from 1965 too. The cast is a mix of known and unknowns who all perform well, yet no one is used to their fullest potential. The overall feel is accomplished by showcasing the turmoil as a constant background: changing moires, a war in a foreign land dividing a population, the taking hold of the so-called "generation-gap" between those coming of age and their elders, and finally the widening gap between the lower middle-class and upper-class. The cinematography is bright even while the feel is decidedly darker.
The story revolves around the aspiring rocker Douglas choosing to follow his muse instead of college with the division at home it causes. As a geek becoming his own person he finds new confidence, even getting the girl who he never had a chance with in high school. Things are not all rosy though. Besides the gap between his parents, Douglas faces differences within the band which constantly threaten to splinter the group even while they enjoy a small degree of success. Also, he has to face his father being diagnosed with cancer. Douglas wears his concerns facially as he rarely smiles, or laughs, except in the company of his girl friend the striking Grace played by Bella Heathcote. Douglas seems somewhat oblivious to the couple's wide gap in looks (she's Paris runway ready, he's a miniature young Howard Stern) or social class, apparently he believes their love of the arts bridges what once kept them at length when they were adolescents. Douglas may style himself as a free-thinker, but at heart he still believes in true love and faithfulness.
Douglas experiences some disappointing obstacles in the road to musical glory. As a result decides upon leaving it all with a new goal of moving to L.A. where his girlfriend can attend UC Berkeley and he can dive into his love of music and film at it's epicenter. Things seem to take a bad turn immediately at a Hollywood party on his first night. He looses the girl (to Mick Jagger?) and abruptly the movie ends. It's a strange open ending which in a way that implies as a rocker Douglas may still...survive?...Because rock and roll will never die and to prove it there's a lovely girl in go-go attire dancing in the middle of a deserted Sunset Boulevard as the quite possibly homeless Douglass is seen in the distance walking away?
O.K., I admit this is "arty" end, but whatever class I'm from for the life of me I'm not sure the hell it is the director/writers is telling me? Not Fade Away seems to be a meandering unfocused movie yet it isn't a failure. It's quite entertaining in spite of itself. For someone who experienced some of the sixties myself (younger than the characters in the film) I enjoyed revisiting a time of profound change, with a wonderful soundtrack and a great original song that fit too! Well worth a look if you keep your expectations guarded.