It Might Get Loud

2009
Directed By Davis Guggenheim


SYNOPSIS

3 generations of guitar gods (Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White) meet to discuss their instrument of choice and jam.

MY THOUGHTS

A unique, entertaining and different take on the 'rocumentary.'

It Might Get Loud mainly features the three guitarists on their own discussing their musical influences, how they work, showing off prized guitars, along with visits to important places in their careers (i.e. we see the mansion where Led Zeppelin recorded their 4th album.) We're treated to plenty of old concert footage and song clips. All these scenes are scattered throughout the film in a very scatter-shot order thats seemingly random like the splashes in a Jackson Pollock painting. The structure is a bit confounding but it keeps the film from falling into a boring routine.

The key to the success of the film is choosing the three guitarists. Page, The Edge, and White are all very different men from different backgrounds and different outlooks on music. When they tell their story, there's no common theme that runs through all three except the presence of a guitar and a love of music.

We never have to hear their band mates or fans/critics telling us how great these three are. (half of the film would have been Bono rambling endlessly!) You only ever hear the three stars tell their story and that's very refreshing.


But, I would have liked there to be more scenes of the three of them together talking (which seemed to be the premise of the whole film as evident in the trailer). There's actually very little of that, but they do jam together on several songs.
The three share many awkward moments during the jams because they all come from different schools - Page's influences are classical, blues and early rock, The Edge's are punk/new wave with plenty of technology and White's are bare-bones blues and punk. They don't completely gel but you wouldn't expect them to. The segments where each is on his own shows this by how completely different they approach music.

As a fan of 'rockumentaries,' and of these three amazing guitarists, I heartily recommend this documentary.
(and not to spoil anything... it DOES get loud)