Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2005) User Reviews

MUST-SEE viewing (& listening) for Leonard Cohen fans worldwide, and if you haven't yet joined the cult of LC then here's your chance to find out what 'everybody knows'!

[SONNYK_USA · 8/10 · 18 June 2006]

From his early days in Montreal, Canada to his current residence at the Zen monastery on Mt. Baldy in California, artist Leonard Cohen continues to inspire songwriters and increase his cult of followers while only recording one new album within a nearly 15 year span.

The 9-year gap that separated THE FUTURE (1992) and TEN NEW SONGS (2001) was by far the longest in Leonard Cohen's recording career to many longtime fans chagrin. But the interviews with Cohen in this film seem to indicate that the fire is coming back into his belly and he might not only record again, but possibly tour.

Certainly the last musical selection in this documentary, which features Leonard Cohen performing "Tower of Song" with backing from the rock band U2 (that's right, Bono sings back-up vocals only), points up the merits of a world tour with guest artists, one that could propel the Canadian legend into the mainstream at last.

One of the most striking elements that separates this concert-docu from the many that have been released in recent years is the depth of the love that these performers and songwriters have for Cohen's music. They know how hard it is write powerful lyrics, and the fact that Cohen will spend as long as a year perfecting his verses it becomes no wonder that any other artist who hears his words for the first time is immediately a fan for life.

While some recent rock-umentaries have faltered (re: any Ramones docu) when trying to blend edited-down songs with 'talking head' interviews, this one marvelously blends both elements to the rhythm of the concert itself. Director Lian Lunson seamlessly weaves the songs and interviews together while letting the instrumental breaks underscore enough of the non-concert footage to keep the audience 'in' it. In this way, almost all of Cohen's lyrics can be heard in each selection and none of his lyrical impact is diminished.

Leonard Cohen is the 'heroin' of rock 'n' roll, in that once you've heard one of his songs you immediately want to hear more of what this man has to say. After listening to so many of his essential works in this film, you'll immediately want to hear the 'man' himself so be prepared (re: bring credit card) to leave the theater and hit the nearest record store for your post-docu 'fix' (re: stock up on Cohen's catalog or the dbl-CD that spans his entire career).

LEONARD COHEN fans unite!!! He's out of the monastery and back in the studio, so there's much more where that came from and hopefully many more new albums to come.

Music soundtrack (this will be one of the MUST-OWN albums of the year for LC-fans)

Pre-concert: Waiting for the Miracle - Sung by Leonard Cohen (album recording)

Concert numbers:

#1 - I'm Your Man - Sung by Nick Cave

#2 - A Thousand Kisses Deep - Sung by Linda Thompson & the Handsome Family

#3 - Everybody Knows - Sung by Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, with Kate (their mother) & Anna (her sister) McGarrigle

#4 - The Traitor - Sung by Martha Wainwright

#5 - Winter Lady - Sung by Kate & Anna McGarrigle w/ Martha Wainwright

#6 - Tonight I Will Be Fine - Sung by Teddy Thompson #7 - If It Be Your Will - Sung by Antony

#8 - Sisters of Mercy - Sung by Beth Orton

#9 - Chelsea Hotel #2 - Sung by Rufus Wainwright

#10 - Suzanne - Sung by Nick Cave

#11 - Death of a Ladies Man - Sung by Jarvis Cocker & Beth Orton

#12 - Anthem - Sung by Julie Christensen & Perla Batalla

#13 - Hallelujah - Sung by Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, with Joan Wasser

Post-concert performance (in New York):

Tower of Song - Sung by Leonard Cohen w/ U2

End credits song: I'm Your Man - Sung by Leonard Cohen (studio recording)

Frustrating experience but still some good performances & good Leonard Cohen stories

[saareman · 7/10 · 22 September 2005]

This was a frustrating experience to sit through. Part concert film, part biography with historical footage & photos, part present day interview, these various strands seem to be struggling with each other. This was filmed primarily at a series of Leonard Cohen tribute performances organized by producer Hal Willner in Sydney, Australia during January 2005 under the banner of "Came So Far For Beauty". Many of the same artists had also performed similar concerts during 2004 in New York City and the UK. Interview clips with Leonard Cohen at his home in LA along with some archival photos and film footage are interspersed into the concert scenes.

The flow of this wasn't always very satisfying and there was one aspect that began to get more irritating the longer the film went on. The filmmakers begin sabotaging their own concert artists by editing/interjecting an occasional red sparkle/red sequin image over their performances, which you gradually realize is a foreshadowing of Leonard Cohen's own performance with U2 (filmed at a totally separate non-concert staged studio setting) to come at the very end of the film. It is like they're constantly saying: "Don't worry if you don't like this particular performance, Leonard Cohen himself is yet to come!". What kind of message is that to send in the middle of your film with other performers? Some songs are even interrupted in mid-performance by historical or interview footage and then when Leonard Cohen is telling some good anecdote we go back to another cheat sheet performance (many of the singers don't seem to know the lyrics, so their eyes and eyelids constantly have a downcast/lidded look as they look to their music stands for the words). Still, there are some terrific performances here by Rufus Wainwright (on "Everybody Knows", "Chelsea Hotel #2" & "Hallelujah") Martha Wainwright (on "The Traitor") Beth Orton & Jarvis Cocker (duet on "Death of a Ladies' Man) and former Leonard Cohen band alumni Perla Battala & Julie Christensen (they also lend terrific support for most of the other singers) on "Anthem" and with the greatest revelation being the single monikered Antony (actually Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons) giving a show-stealing rendition of "If It Be Your Will".

Leonard Cohen's & U2's seemingly mimed/lip-synced performance of "Tower of Song" comes as a big let down at the end. Even more frustratingly, the main concert's rehearsal clips show the rest of the singers rehearsing a group finale, which, after a search on the internet (see http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/hw-sydney.html), I found out was the Sydney show's closing number "Memories" ("I walked up to the tallest and the blondest girl, I said, look, you don't know me now, but pretty soon you will, So won't you let me see, won't you let me see, won't you let me see…, your naked body.") which would have made for a much more humorous and rollicking finale but is sadly not to be seen in the film. A great opportunity lost but perhaps still a future possibility for a DVD down the road. Still, Leonard Cohen tells some great stories and Rufus Wainwright gets to tell his own personal "Leonard Cohen moment" story and Nick Cave gets to talk about his discovery of "Songs of Love and Hate", but I would rather have had a pure concert film or a pure interview/biography (or better yet, both separately!) rather than this hybrid which doesn't satisfy either craving completely. The good moments rescue this enough to bring it up to a 7 out of 10.

The Voice and Songs of Cohen Surmount Visual Gimmicks

[noralee · 7/10 · 12 July 2006]

"Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" is an entertaining and informative tribute to the iconic singer-songwriter/poet.

Structuring the film as a mostly chronological autobiographical interview with Cohen, director Lian Lunson intersperses his personal family photographs and home movies with cover performances at a Sydney Opera House concert to illustrate themes in his life. While his experiences in New York City have been well-documented to fans, especially in his own songs, the depth of the influence of his Canadian heritage is a new insight. With only a humorous nod to his reputation as a "ladies man" (he sounds like every rock 'n' roller on VH-1 cheerfully admitting that he became a musician to pick up chicks), his spiritual explorations are well explained, including his Jewish background and a visit with his Zen mentor.

Unusual for this adulatory genre, Cohen is articulate about his songwriting as a painstaking craft in general, though only a couple of specific songs that we see intensely performed or the albums they are from are given more context, such as who "Suzanne" was and working with Phil Spector.

Throughout, the performers from Canada, the U.S., England, Ireland and Australia, male, female, straight and gay, discuss his songs and the impact they have had on their lives and art. While it is not mentioned until the very last credit, this 2005 concert is based on a packed 2003 concert in Brooklyn also produced by Hal Willner, as part of the Canadian Consulate's annual Canada Day sponsorship in Prospect Park, under the rubric "Came So Far For Beauty: An Evening of Songs by Leonard Cohen Under the Stars," which featured many of the same performers captured on stage here, including Rufus Wainwright, who relates surprising personal anecdotes about his formative connection with the Cohen family, his sister Martha Wainwright, his mother and aunt Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Nick Cave, the Handsome Family (Brett and Rennie Sparks), Teddy Thompson and his mother Linda Thompson, and Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen who have backed Cohen on his last two tours, with an all-star downtown NYC band led by the horns of Steve Bernstein and the master guitar of Mark Ribot.

Instead of Laurie Andersen at that magical night, added are Jarvis Cocker and Antony Hegarty (known respectively as the leader of the bands Pulp and Antony and the Johnsons, though that's never mentioned in the film) and Beth Orton. The performers are only identified in the opening and closing credits. While the concert footage nicely mixes close-ups and full band shots, it is more than half-way through the film before we hear any audience reaction, and we only see glimpses of the audience towards the end. Added climactically just to the film is Cohen singing with U2 at a small club.

The interviews are all talking heads, with the extensive Cohen conversations focusing on the planes of his face, particularly as the camera gazes at him adoringly during silences, including a lot of freeze frames. There is an annoying repetitive device of blurring with fades in and fades out, and theatrical focus on a back stage scrim of beads, accompanied by odd theremin-like sounds. This reinforces the somewhat cabaret interpretations of several of the performers that would seem more appropriate to a Tom Waits tribute and are very unlike the two tribute albums that have already been produced.

Cohen himself is so charismatic and his rumbling voice is so magisterial that he surmounts the visual gimmicks.

Tantalizing hodgepodge not quite worthy of a remarkable men

[Chris Knipp · 7/10 · 26 June 2006]

Leonard Cohen is a songwriters' songwriter, like Townes van Zandt, about whom a documentary film appeared last year. The subject of this new one, produced by Lion's Gate Television and now in limited US release in theaters – is famous here and in Europe and an icon in Canada and still vital today, in his early seventies, after a very long career -- though younger mainstream pop fans may be unfamiliar with his name. A Jew from Montreal, the son of a successful haberdasher who died when he was nine but left him money to live on, Cohen means a lot to people who write songs or who've cared about lyrics from the Sixties when John Hammond discovered him and the Seventies when Robert Altman used his songs in McCabe and Mrs. Miller and on into the present day, when he has returned to perform after an absence of over a decade, partly due to financial need. But you won't get all this information from this documentary. Nor will this be the ideal introduction to the man and his work.

The film cuts into music with talking heads in the manner of such films and is mainly an editing together of a concert honoring Cohen featuring Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Jarvis Cocker, and others with a long interview of Cohen at his home in L.A. interspersed with old footage of the man's life. Some overly pointed tricks with stills and overlays of red blobs are a distracting element in what otherwise is technically unimpressive film-making. The impression that emerges is that Cohen interviewed intercut with texts of his poems and himself singing would make a fine and intelligent film. Concerts by admirers would be another, lesser, film. Combining the two elements diminishes both and results in a film that seems slapped together.

At the end as a kind of surprise Cohen himself sings a song backed up by Bono and the Edge, who've sung his praises in words earlier. However this performance is unremarkable and not a climactic finale.

Cohen in his interview amid many wise and pithy remarks provides us with a tantalizingly sketchy narrative of what sounds like a fascinating life: we find out that he grew up in Montreal and was active with a group of poets there; has lived on the island of Hydra and in the Chelsea Hotel and made love to Janis Joplin and wrote a song about her; has a reputation as a ladies man but has spent "ten thousand nights alone"; has been ordained as a Zen monk and lived in a monastery on Mount Baldy; learned early the virtues of modesty and despair and the acceptance of failure as inevitable. We would like to learn more.

Respect is clearly due a writer-musician of such originality and intelligence, but apart from the uneasy linkage of interview and songs, the concert clips covered in this film might have been better if the performances had been more straightforward and less worshipful. The songs are made into anthems and the most essential element, the words, gets muddled. I'm pleased to be introduced to Rufus Wainwright, whose voice and personality are irresistible, and who's a Montrealer too. Nick Cave, whom some see as a kind of heir to Cohen as a complex lyricist, isn't half bad either in singing Cohen's songs, in a second-tier cabaret singer sort of way; his performance of Cohen's most famous song, "Susanne,"which even I immediately recognized, is not unworthy. And this is one place where the interview and the concert come together effectively, since Cohen comments on the song's actual origins just before the performance is shown.

There ought to have been more of the flat tuneless singing of Leonard Cohen himself, which is probably the best way to experience his lyrics, without too much musical embroidery. Is it that unlike Townes Van Zandt's, Cohen's Sixties and Seventies performances are unfilmed? The other speakers about the man are as worshipful as the concertizers. They go so overboard in praising him that they could be talking about Socrates or Jesus. Bono is an eloquent speaker, but not a precise one.

This overblown praise is curiously inappropriate for someone as modest and ironic as Cohen -- and so well able to speak for himself. When songwriters are also poets or wits, like Bob Dylan or Tom Lehrer or Cohen, they don't need tuneful voices but what they do need is clarity of diction -- which they have, and the men in the concert, Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, Wainwright, have, but the women performers, including Wainwright's own sister, tend to lack. The ideal audience for this film is one that can approach it already armed with worshipful reverence. If you know noting about Leonard Cohen, the place to start would be not here, but with his own recordings, moving on to the more detailed bios available online and then perhaps (though I haven't been there) to his published writings, which include both poems and novels. Only after acquiring a thorough familiarity with Cohen's writing and singing would one want to hear elaborate covers of his songs.

Some viewers of this film find Antony's performance of "If It Be Your Will" awesome and deeply moving. I found it awkward, peculiar, and embarrassing. Not for the first time in the film, egocentric hamming overpowered the simple power of the song. And ironically, when the performances most excelled musically, they seemed to lose touch with the Leonard Cohen flavor of the songs.

The director, Lian Lunson, is a woman from Australia who's a good friend of Bono and who has done a film about Willie Nelson – and has the dubious honor of having composed the music for The Passion of the Christ. She has said Mel Gibson is a big fan of both Cohen and Nick Cave, and helped her get the film produced by Lion's Gate.

a fine documentary

[wrlang · 7/10 · 24 November 2006]

You have to know and like Leonard Cohen to appreciate this film. I found the documentary style to be quite nice and informative. Up close and personal kind of format. You really should be in a melancholy mood to watch this, if you're in action film mode you will fast be bored. But the songs are nice and well executed and very meaningful for those that idolize Cohen. Cohen seems to look for the deepest of emotions in his writings and comes up with many good lyrics that are unique in presentation. I would recommend this on Christmas or New Years Eve after the guests have all left and you're sitting in the great room with a snifter of fine warmed brandy waxing nostalgic in front of the fire.

In Awe Of The Master

[pfkozak · 10/10 · 2 July 2006]

Leonard Cohen is a master and this documentary is a fitting tribute to a legend. The audience at the Film Forum in New York sat in awed silence while the music washed though us and the lyrics cleansed our souls. Sometimes, the words cut painfully close to the bone, reminding us of our shared experience of being human.

Leonard Cohen goes to places most of us are unwilling to look at and brings back truth that no one can deny. Bono accurately describes it as going into the abyss and laughing at it. The artists performing his songs follow him there and brilliantly express the depth of his poetry set to music.

This is an outstanding film, documenting the poetic voice of our generation, and surely of many generations to come.

DISagree

[Stone_Age_Pilot · 12 July 2006]

It was a great hybrid, fascinating snippets and tidbits. Allow the filmmaker her vision. I loved the performances, which are all endearingly flawed. Cohen's humility transcends luminosity. Antony's performance tapped like vigilantes in my ribcage. It is true that the interruptions were off-putting, but they can't be labeled as digressions inasmuch as Leonard Cohen was the true star. In fact, several people I spoke with commented that they would have preferred it simply be Cohen sung by Cohen, but I rebut: What about Cohen's legacy? His legacy ( his legends, his mythology) is just as important as the man himself. To see a variety of accomplished performers dare offer their renditions of Cohen is not only compelling, it intoxicates the senses and the imagination.

A must see for any Montrealer or admirer of LC or simply poetry.

Nearly Biblical per The Edge

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 22 July 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. Guess I went into this one with misdirected expectations. I really thought it would be more of a traditional documentary film exploring the true genius and talent of the man. In fact, really all we get are film clips from a 2005 tribute concert in Australia wrapped around some priceless interview moments with Mr. Cohen. It doesn't take much talent to quickly realize the value is with the man, not the cover songs. The question is, why doesn't our rookie filmmaker recognize this? Although into his 70's now, Mr. Cohen remains other-worldly lucid and insightful and his smooth baritone readily spews forth words of wisdom and genius. His observational and oratory skills remain unmatched. The mix of his personal home movies is a nice touch, but oh how I wish we had more of his reminiscing and just talking about his life.

Most of his music is presented by second tier artists. The real stand out is Rufus Wainwright (son and grandson to Loudon I and II). Rufus obviously worships the man and his music and his affection shines through in all three performances, especially "Chelsea Hotel #2" (a kind of tribute to Janis Joplin). Nick Cave probably most accurately captures the Cohen style, but at least half of the songs in the film were performed by women. Quite a contrast to Cohen's own style.

A really magical moment occurs at the end of the film as Leonard performs with the backing of U2. Hard to tell who is more honored at playing with whom. The reverence shown for Cohen's writing is evident throughout the film, but the interview moments are mere teases to what could have been. Make sure to stay for the credits to hear Leonard sing his own song.

A great tribute to a marvelous poet

[ClarissaTroop · 9/10 · 29 March 2006]

I was completely mesmerized by the performances in "Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man" and really liked the juxtaposition of his voice talking with other voices singing his songs. I saw the movie at the Sundance Film Festival and fell in love with his songs all over again. I thought that hearing about his life through his words and commentary was totally absorbing and I enjoyed every minute of it. On another level it also introduced me to artists that I didn't know that well or at all. I am now a huge fan of Rufus Wainwright's who is a perfect person to sing Leonard Cohen's songs. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and recommend this movie 100%!

a disappointment - great subject, but poor film-making

[estragon! · 6/10 · 1 July 2006]

This film gets six out of ten only because some of the performances are almost worth the price of admission. Leonard Cohen deserves better. The director, a great fan of Leonard Cohen and a good friend of Mel Gibson, found herself before some great material, but had no clue what to do with it.

The Came So Far For Beauty concert has some terrific performances (Rufus Wainwright, Antony), and some awful ones (the two backup singers, who are inexplicably invited into the foreground and butcher "Anthem"). Cohen's turn with U2 is a lovely way to end the film. Seeing Bono sing back-up, and the look on Larry Mullins Jr.'s face are worth sticking around for.

But the problems start almost right away, and almost overwhelm the film. The performances -- calibrated for a concert stage in a large hall -- are filmed in artless close-up. It works for the charming Rufus Wainwright, but most certainly doesn't for his sister Martha and some of the others. Sometimes songs are inexplicably interrupted by some kind of often banal comment by Cohen himself, such as "The Wainwrights are doing a terrific job of reinventing my songs" (or something like that).

Worse, the film uses cheap editing tricks that have felt overused since the 80s: grainy super-8 footage of nothing at all, unmotivated digital effects, inexplicable additions of echo to some interview clips, superimposed red dots on the performance scenes, etc. This is film-school stuff.

But worst of all is the interview with Cohen himself. One gets the impression that he gave the director little more than a set of pat answers to frequently asked questions. Rarely does her questioning force Cohen to think, or to give her something he hasn't given before. (One exception is his recounting of his reaction toward losing his father -- a striking story that was unexpected and telling.) And not only is the interview itself disappointing, from a technical point of view it is strictly amateur hour. The director shot the interview herself, with a cheap camcorder. So cheap is the lens on this camcorder that the edges of the frame -- and Cohen's ear or other parts of his head (depending on the framing) -- are always out of focus. Surely, having been presented with such an opportunity, the director should have taken more care.

Bottom line: the skill, intelligence and attention to detail do not live up to the can't-lose subject matter. This is a documentary with a decent budget and some serious players behind it. Given that, it doesn't come close to living up to its potential.

Ungainly hybrid does not serve Leonard Cohen well

[wrickwolff · 3/10 · 10 June 2006]

This film was a disaster from start to finish. Interspersed with performances from "the next generation of beautiful losers" are interviews with Bono and The Edge as well as the performers themselves. This leaves little time for the clips of Leonard Cohen himself, who towers over everyone else in the film with his commanding yet gentle presence, wisdom and humor. The rest are too busy trying to canonize him as St. Leonard or as some Old Testament prophet. Many of the performances are forgettable over-interpretations (especially Rufus & Martha Wainright's) or bland under-achievements. Only Beth Orton and Anthony got within striking distance of Leonard's own versions by using a little restraint. Annoying little pseudo-avant-garde gestures are sprinkled throughout the film- like out of focus superimpositions of red spheres over many of the concert and interview shots, shaky blurred camera work, use of digital delay on some of Leonard Cohen's comments (making it harder to hear what's being said) and a spooky, pretentious low drone under a lot of the interview segments (an attempt at added gravitas?). For the real thing, see the Songs From The Life Of documentary produced by the BBC in 1988.

a soulful film that enlightens, entertains and enraptures.

[paubateman · 9/10 · 6 October 2005]

I had the good fortune of seeing this documentary while I was at the Toronto Film festival this year. I saw a bunch of movies at the festival but was never moved as much as I was by "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man."

I nodded my head when I read, weeks later, that Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that the film brought him to tears, because I too cried at several parts of the film.

I was on IMDb earlier this week when I happened upon the nasty review of this film (posted by a user on this site). While normally I don't post my opinions on these sorts of sites—I thought it appropriate in this case to clarify that the hybrid concert movie/biopic works very well and that neither part takes away from the other. Instead they fuse something new and, in fact, quite effective.

I felt that having the privilege of hearing Leonard comment on his own music and life while also having the chance to hear a younger generation of talented musicians sing some of my favorite Cohen songs was a rare and precious experience. The film-making only enhanced and streamlined that experience.

Moreover, seeing Leonard with U2 was fun and unexpected. Leaving the film with a sweet rather than bitter aftertaste. I find Leonard's humor to be his strongest asset in trying to make the sublime translatable. In that sense I thought that this oft emotionally evocative documentary managed to be as funny and light as it was serious and dramatic. U2 was an out of the ordinary touch but one that made audiences realize that even big rock-stars revere and admire the trailblazers before them. Moreover, Bono and The Edge speak eloquently and beautifully about Mr. Cohen.

In the end, "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" is a gem of a film. I will be seeing it again when it comes to theaters or on DVD. It made me think about art, life, music and fitting tributes. This is indeed a fitting tribute to a great man.

Disjointed film, but still recommended for Leonard Cohen fans

[Sasha_Lauren · 6/10 · 11 July 2019]

LEONARD COHEN - I'M YOUR MAN (2005)

I'm an unabashed Leonard Cohen fan who has been watching documentaries about this poetic luminary for the past month. I like them all because of the subject; I've been uplifted and inspired by several of them. I wanted to like this one, Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man, more than I did; the film felt to be a disjointed mix of performances by a wide range of musicians doing Cohen covers and some interviews with Leonard in which we hear a bit about Suzanne, the Chelsea Hotel, his time as a monk, (I found that part quite interesting), etc. The camera angle seemed oddly fixated on his nose.

The musical performances from the 2005 tribute show, "Came So Far for Beauty" at the Sydney Opera House were hit and miss. Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Perla Batella, and Anohni were highlights for me, and the topper was when Leonard himself sang Tower of Song with U2. I recommend this film for fans of Leonard although this is not my top pick of the documentaries about him.

Are you kidding me?!!!

[bzad56 · 4/10 · 27 July 2006]

This film should have been only 10 minutes. I mean there is really only 10 minute worth of watchable content in this thing (I even hesitate to call it a movie). The opening credits of the film was somehow promising. As the film begins by short comments of the man himself, you really rub your hands and stay tuned for more footage from Cohen's life. Well, Nick Cave does a reasonable job covering one of Cohen's famous songs. The length of Cave's performance makes you even more eager to see more of Cohen whose wit and well spoken words have already tickled your fancy. But as it turns out Cave's performance is only the start of lengthy super boring performances by literally a bunch of no ones who don't even have a minimal attraction to keep you on your seat. I mean what does the filmmaker really think? five-minute close-up shots of wanna be singers in a fake concert in Australia!!! What does the filmmaker really think to insult the audience by adding "fake applause" to these endless nasty performances. The film is a perfect torture that shows you very little of what you came to see. There is not a single footage of Cohen's past. In fact, except for a few photographs of his early days as a singer/poet there is absolutely nothing! If you add up all the minutes that Cohen talks it may not even reach 10 minutes. But these 10 minutes are tortuously presented bit by bit in between disastrous camera-work that captures some of the most unattractive people screaming Cohen's lyrics. If you ever decided to waste your money on this film, DON'T! just throw it in the garbage and at least save your time.

Deeply flawed by simple errors

[kpw-5 · 15 November 2007]

Leonard is always engaging, and one stays with this messy and overlong piece of amateurism. But it generates rage by the frequency with which performers appear without being identified.

Others have commented upon the frequent and irritating inclusion of the luminous graphic frame that anticipates the arrival of Bono and the lads, and they are dead right: it is just one of the many deeply irritating aspects of this potentially delightful piece. EG:

Many of the performances just go on and on and on and on -- including, in one case, through the introduction of every member of the band. And a very long series of introductions it is. This is a very thick, incompetent director, who needed to be taken in hand at the editing bench and reminded that the primary responsibility is to the audience.

One would have thought that Mel Gibson would have had something to say about tidying it up. Alas.

Patrick Watson Toronto

Leonard love fest

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 12 November 2023]

Various singers gather to sing the praises of Leonard Cohen and sing his songs. The man does talk about his life and his words. The big name here is U2 as the members come in with some snippets of flowery praises. They do finally play one song. Only they are backing Leonard Cohen as he sings Tower of Song. It is funny that they seem to be performing to only the cameras in a basement comedy club. The other performers are doing a concert. I recognize a few name but don't really know these performers. I like a few of their interpretations. I'm not sure that I learned much about the man other than his reputation with the ladies is overblown. Not every man can be a pro basketball player.

Stay For the Concert

[clf-73998 · 6/10 · 25 August 2021]

This movie is not very good except for the concert footage and even that gets cut up to the point of ruin at times. Even the text font seems out of place in this mess of a film. It's trying to be the Last Waltz but it has no actual story or thread. Stick to the soundtrack.

Beautiful Movie

[lmbl-1 · 10/10 · 25 March 2006]

Leonard Cohen fans will love this movie and for those not familiar with his work, they will be enlightened. The eclectic group of performers who pay tribute to him for starters is one of the best line ups of talent on the one stage. Seeing Nick Cave, Antony, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton to name a few all paying homage to Leonard Cohen's work is a real treat.

Anyone familiar with Hal Willner's tribute concerts knows that it is a unique experience to witness one. Combining this concert caught on film and the beauty and wisdom of Leonard Cohen is a delight. It is not often that you get to see a writer and performer's body of work presented in such beautiful fashion. It also says a lot about Leonard Cohen that this group of extraordinary performers are so honored to pay homage to him. That alone says so much about the man.

I saw this film at the Sundance Film Festival and it was one of the best things I saw there.

Predictable, but good, renditions of great songs

[mcjadt · 7/10 · 26 March 2009]

Most reviews of this documentary start off in the same general way, with the reviewer stating that he or she is a big fan of Cohen's work. This makes sense, after all, it would be pretty miserable to sit through ninety minutes of songs and interviews by / about /with someone whose work you despise.

So, let me say now, I am a big fan of Leonard Cohen.

As such, it is natural to regard attempts to pay tribute to an artist's work with some dubiety. There are two forms 'tributes' take, generally - "We're not worthy" grovelling or shameless gold-digging. Often it is hard to tell the separate the two. This documentary has a lot of the former, but this tendency towards veneration is balanced by the fact that many of the renditions of Cohen's songs are really good, if predictable.

The film consists of three strands - footage of performances of a tribute concert staged in Sydney in 2005, discussions of Cohen's work by the performers and Cohen himself talking about his life. By pursuing these different routes, the film makers reach no clear end.

There is SOME concert footage, but not enough. There is SOME discussion of Cohen's work by his admirers, but too much. There is some interesting information about Cohen, from the man himself, but it is too restricted and disjointed. It is frustrating that an interesting observation by Cohen isn't explored further, or that a riveting performance of one of his songs is followed by Bono offering his arid thoughts.

Stand out performances included Martha Wainwright's bleak performance of 'The Traitor,' brother Rufus singing 'Chelsea Hotel,' Anthony's rendition of 'If it be your Will,' and the duet of Julie Christensen and Perla Battala on 'Anthem.' Nick Cave provides a couple of workmanlike performances, though there is a feeling that he should have been able to find something more than he delivers. Jarvis Cocker - perhaps the most interesting inclusion - gives an odd rendition of 'I Can't Forget' - which irritated me at first, but which I've subsequently come to admire.

Which raises a question about the purpose of the concert. As we watch the concert footage, are we seeking a Cohen adulation-fest with his songs rendered straight, or looking for something strange and unusual with them, and encourage us to see the material in new ways? Given the conservative choices of performers, and the tribute concert setting, and the songs selected, it's pretty obvious that the producers had the former in mind as they planned the concert, which is a shame.

There are three types of people in the world - those who are not familiar with Cohen's work, those who know it and want to be reminded about how nice it is, and those who know it and want to be reminded how great it is. The second category will enjoy this unreservedly. They'll hear great songs well presented, but the exercise is suspiciously middle of the road - here is a good song, sung pretty much the way you know it, so everyone can join in with the chorus.

Basically, a lot of the concert seemed to be pandering to people's preconceived idea of what Leonard Cohen's music was. If he was as influential as is claimed, let's hear the reggae and afro-beat versions of his songs, let's hear them translated into Afghan and sung by choirs of amputees (that might be in rather poor taste, but you get the idea). If Cohen's music is as vital as it is meant to be (and I believe it is), it doesn't need to be preserved in aspic. If Leonard Cohen's fans are as discerning as they think they are (I think, unfortunately, they are not) then they would find the experience at least interesting, perhaps exhilarating.

Most likely, of course, a tribute concert along those lines would be a commercial disaster. It would work, perhaps, as a straight album, or performances recorded in a studio setting, rather than in an opera house in front of thousands of fans wanting to hear the songs the way they like them.

As for the Cohen interviews, they are interesting, but presented in a disjointed manner that allows little more than a general picture of the man to emerge. He was from Canada, he went to New York, wrote a dirty song about Janis Joplin, but wasn't as much of a ladies' man as people think and became a Bhuddist monk. There should be more of this, or less.

Then there are the interviews with the performers and various Cohen devotees. These are, pretty much what you would expect. It is, after all, unlikely someone asked to give an opinion for a project like this would be gauche enough to say something bad, and it is even less likely that such a comment would have made it to the final cut. You learn little beyond the fact that those involved really like Leonard Cohen, which is nice, but it is repeated a few times too many. Bono appears, as he seems to do in every thing these days, and provides some unintentional comedy with his praise of the Godlike genius of Cohen. He is given too much screen time and he doesn't have much to say, though the film makers provide some sort of service by capturing him mispronouncing 'chasm.' Hah-ha. Plonker.

It is worth watching, though there are a thousand different versions of the concert and film that Might Have Been, all of them holding out more promise than this one realized.

Celebrating Leonard Cohen

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 15 July 2006]

First of all, this documentary focuses on a concert that was a tribute to Leonard Cohen, an artist and a poet that has been influential to countless others. This Sydney concert gathered a lot of talent that came together to celebrate his music. Lian Lunson, an Australian director, has taken the best tracks of the historical presentation that mixes well with the man it's paying homage to. Let the viewer be clear that for a better picture of who this man is and what he has done in his life, it will not be found in this movie. For that, anyone interested in Cohen's life must go somewhere else because of the limitations this medium had.

The life of Leonard Cohen is examined briefly as an on camera interview with him at his Los Angeles home. Several biographical bits of information are revealed during that conversation, but of course, it only covers the highlights of his life in sketchy details. One gets to know, for instance, about his early life in Montreal. The death of the father when Cohen was nine. His New York stay, at the legendary Chelsea Hotel, home of the cool people that influenced a whole generation. Then one learns about Mr. Cohen's introduction to Zen Buddism and his becoming a monk.

A curious note arises from the lips of Leonard Cohen's lips about being a notorious ladies' man, something he was always notorious for, and yet, how far from the truth it was. There is also a moment in which the poet reads for our benefit the introduction he prepared for one of his books being translated into Chinese, a culture that always fascinated him.

The concert itself is an excellent way to hear Leonard Cohen's songs as others interpret them. Rufus Wainwright sings three numbers to great effect. Antony makes a poignant appearance belting "If It Be Your Will", all tics and mannerisms, yet making the song seem new. Nick Cave has also two good moments interpreting "I'm Your Man", and "Suzanne", two of the songs closely associated with Mr. Cohen. Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen who back up most of the songs, are perfect in "Anthem". Martha Wainwright's take on "The Traitor" has a different edge when she sings it, yet it's one of the highlights of the evening.

The best is left for last. Bono, and Edge, who have been praising Mr. Cohen throughout the film come together to back him as he sings his "Tower of Song" in his own inimitable style. It shows a lot of generosity on his part leaving his own material to be reexamined by a younger generation that clearly loves him.

Lian Lunson shows she had the right idea in how to bring the concert into a movie that gives relevance to a man that had it all, Leonard Cohen.

More Leonard Would Have Made a Better Movie

[brendastern · 7/10 · 13 September 2006]

This film introduced me to Leonard Cohen, who I vaguely knew as the writer of songs like "Tower of Song" and "Suzanne" but otherwise knew nothing about. In short, he's fascinating, and this film is as much about the art of composing as it is about the songs themselves. But there was not enough Leonard Cohen and too much time devoted to mediocre renditions of his music. Rufus Wainwright is entertaining, but the redeeming feature of the performances is the U2/Leonard collaboration which comes at the very end of the film. It's worth sitting through just for the expression on Larry Mullen Jr.'s face, the obvious worship for Leonard by The Edge and to hear Bono as a backup singer, with Adam Clayton looking bemused. I would only recommend this film to someone who knows music and can appreciate just how much work Leonard puts into his songs; otherwise, you'll be yawning an hour in.

Dire

[chillroom-1 · 2/10 · 5 July 2006]

The people who are praising this film are the real disappointments -- I am hoping at least that Leonard will see some good $$ out of this, as his life savings were embezzled away by a manager a couple of years ago and he's over 70 now. But this film is simply terrible. At the beginning Leonard himself says he is not sentimental about his past, and then for the next hour and a half the film emphasizes all the worst sentimental elements of Leonard's songs. It is so bloody PRECIOUS with its endless close-ups of over emoting singers. Cohen's interview is all done in lo-fi video closeups and I so wanted to see a medium or a long shot of his whole body! I couldn't care less about the comments of the performers, especially those overblown ego boys Edge and Bono. None of the performers in this film have done even one song as good as Leonard's own music and if you are thinking about seeing this and you have any doubts at all, heed them. This would be an acceptable PBS special, maybe, for a one time showing. But I will even hesitate at getting a DVD of this. When the film finally shows Leonard semi-performing "Tower of Song" it's ruined by Bono taking a verse. Even the occasional good performances (Antony, Rufus' first number, Martha's The Traitor) are spoiled by the context of the rest of this turgid blabla. Forget this one, and go buy Leonard's most recent album if you want to pay tribute to him.

Beautiful

[diriklolkus · 10/10 · 14 January 2007]

There is something very special about Leonard Cohen. A great majority of song lyrics are banal and predictable. With Mr. Cohen's lyrics, you are drawn in and become a part of the story. You can relate to what he is saying in his songs and you must respect his art in the presentation. As a poet, his songs reflect a lyricism and love of language which make them a pleasure to hear. This documentary is a good introduction to his life and his work. The performances are excellent and the interviews interesting. This does what all good documentaries do - make you want to learn more about the subject. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in sophisticated song-writers (i.e. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell). There aren't that many writers capable of working at the demanding level of Mr. Cohen and they are to be encouraged. Even if you have never heard of Mr. Cohen, take a chance and watch this movie...you will find it enlightening and enjoyable.

a huge disappointment

[mjbarr · 2/10 · 12 December 2006]

I've been a fan since his first album. This film is a disservice to him. The performances, except for one by Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson are simply terrible.

Those by Martha Wainwright, Nick Cave, Antony, and Jarvis Cocker were particularly annoying. Even the one by the McGarrigle sisters was ruined by the so called harmony of Martha Wainwright.

I've never seen my wife get up and walk out of the room on a film before and I found myself fast forwarding through the performances to get to the few interview segments, which were also difficult to watch due to the poor camera work.

There are many who have been able to interpret Mr. Cohen's songs, Jennifer Warnes, KD Lang, Billy Joel, Aaron Neville, and Willie Nelson come to mind, but those people selected for this performance were just awful.

Hopefully there will be another attempt at capturing Leonard Cohen on film that will illustrate his insight, talent, and intelligence.

So sad

much better than expected

[dcwidman · 10/10 · 31 July 2006]

I had known Leonard Cohen and his music - had several albums (Jennifer Warnes 'Famous Blue Raincoat' a great one). I went to see this movie, though, thinking it should be good but not knowing what to expect. I had just seen Neil Young's Heart of Gold and was disappointed because it was essentially a concert film of new (and very similar) music. It failed to show the diversity in Neil Young's songs over the years. The Leonard Cohen movie was also a concert film but with artists I wasn't very familiar with. WOW, was I surprised. To me it surpassed The Band's "The Last Waltz" and now - for me - is the best music film ever. I was blown away by the performances, being mesmerized by Anthony's performance and deeply moved by Teddy Thompson's. I wanted a remote controller so I could push repeat and see these performances again. Martha and Rufus Wainwright's performances were equally stunning. Nick Cave looked and sounded like Leonard Cohen, while the others brought new and wonderful interpretations to these great Leonard Cohen songs. Nick Cave's Suzanne was fascinatng as he sang the lead 'behind' the backup singers instead of in front. It was filmed in black and white adding to the experience. In short, there wasn't a disappointing performance among any of them and I wouldn't want any of them left on the cutting room floor. If there was a disappointment at all it was that The Handsome Family's wonderful rendition of "A Thousand Kisses" was cut short. That's the music. But, this is also an "art film". Very masterfully edited were comments by Leonard Cohen and other musicians including Bono and Edge from U2. Photos of Cohen's life, his art, and his poems were appropriately and artfully placed to give a real sense of this amazing person's life and contribution. When Cohen reads his introduction to a book of poems being translated into Chinese we not only understand the man, we understand and appreciate the value of humility and the too often overemphasis on self-importance. The final number with Leonard Cohen singing and U2 playing and capped off a marvelous movie. This is a must see for any lover of the arts.