You haven't seen Mick Jagger's lips until you've seen them five stories tall.
Maybe that's not the most important thing to take from Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light, but it certainly is a memorable part of seeing the film in an IMAX theater.
Despite my long-standing grudge that concert films ultimately serve as a cruel, two-hour reminder that I'm not actually at the show, Shine a Light was not without its charms.
Scorsese intersperses old interview footage between the songs, often to humorous affect. When a youthful Jagger is asked about the Stones longevity in footage from 1964, he says the group has "at least one more good year." Seconds later, we see the same man 42 years later, shooting across the stage like a pinball, showing more verve than performers half his age.
Despite celebrating the Stones' longevity, the film's set list — culled from two nights at New York's Beacon Theater in 2006 — includes nary a tune from the group's past 20 years. Considering the band was on tour supporting its 2005 record, A Bigger Bang, this is especially suspicious.
However, the Stones compensate with a mixture of rarities and hits. They close with a guns-blazing rendition of "Satisfaction." Earlier, Buddy Guy supplies Muddy Waters cover "Champagne & Reefer" with blues firepower aplenty, while guest appearances by Christina Aguilera ("Live With Me") and White Stripes/Raconteurs frontman Jack White ("Loving Cup") don't quite hit the mark.
This isn't Scorsese's first look at an artist in the twilight of his/their career. His 2005 Bob Dylan pic, No Direction Home, offered a sympathetic portrait of a young singer/songwriter who was unwillingly thrust into the mantle of "voice of a generation," a sensitive counterpart to the cool, snarky Dylan of Don't Look Back. Maybe Scorsese just wants to honor some of his favorite artists before he and they move on to the big rock show in the sky.
Age and defying it is an undeniable theme throughout Shine a Light. When you watch Keith Richards move around on stage and his face looks more worn out than a sock with holes, you're willing to gamble that the Stones probably don't have another 45 years in them. But, baby, you know the deuce is still wild — even without acknowledging any material from the latter part of their career, Scorsese's film shows how the Stones seem ageless.
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