If you are looking for a documentary that will give you deep insight into Keith Richard's personal life, than this is far from the film for you. This movie is in many ways the equivalent of hanging out with Keith and talking about music. Keith spends little time talking about the Rolling Stones or his solo work, instead focusing on his love and devotion to the blues, country music, reggae and early rock and roll. If you are a fan of the music he is talking about, there is little no insight here, but he discuses this music with such a passion that it is fun listening to him talk about it. When someone is passionate about an artform, whether that is music, film, books, etc. because they enjoy talking about it so much that you enjoy listening to it. It doesn't matter if you know everything they are saying it is still fun to just hear their passion. Director Morgan Neville understands this and simply lets Keith talk and adds little else to the table. The result is a movie that is honestly not that cinematic or informative but is still a lot of fun.
This being a movie completely and utterly about music, naturally the songs are a huge reason to watch. Keeping with the theme of this film, most of what he plays are covers, but really good and heartfelt covers. Two that stood out to me as his brief version Merle Haggard's
Sing Me Back Home and the lovely closing version of Leadbelly's
Goodnight Irene. There are no extended guitar solos here or real rocking out. Keith keeps his musical offerings here on the acoustic side, but partly because of this it has the close intimacy that he and so many us love about the blues and country music. There is a laid back but still soulful feeling to his renditions of these classic songs. For a movie about one of The Rolling Stones, there is little sex, drugs or rock and roll here. But there is plenty of music and isn't the music why people became fans of Keith Richards in the first place?
-Michael J. Ruhland
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