Taking Woodstock

Taking Woodstock is Ang Lee's loving portrait of the 1969 music festival in Bethel, NY. Based on Elliot Tiber's memoir of the same name, the film follows Elliot over the summer preceding the "3 days of peace and music."

I can only describe Taking Woodstock as a docudrama on ecstasy. There is such love and affection for the subject. Lee loves the music (though there should be more of it); he loves the sex and the lack of inhibition (and there's a good amount of it. He even loves the drugs (except for the brown acid, of course). The result is a film that is completely seductive, as long as you go along for the trip and let yourself be seduced.

The film is populated with dozens of people, as you might expect, and it's amazing to see such a strong impact from actors in the tiniest of roles (many uncredited). Demitri Martin is excellent as Tiber. Ultimately, it's his journey we're following, and his transformation over the summer of 1969 is beautiful and oh so subtle. Martin gives a nuanced performance that is both quirky and deep.

Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman are breathtaking as Elliot's parents, Jake and Sonia. While nothing about these characters would scream "subtle," the performances are incredibly nuances. These three get the bulk of the screen time, but it's not that the myriad of other characters simply provide a context. The large cast is critical to the feelings that wash over you throughout the film. They are all Elliot's spirit guides.

Jonathan Groff is so seductive as promoter Michael Lane, his sensuality alone seems to bring the concert off (and kept my heart beating faster for the entire film). Nothing rattles. Emile Hirsch plays Viet Nam veteran Billy. Half crazed and half transformed, when Billy yells, "I love this hill!" tears welled up in my eyes. And it's the tiniest of moments, easy to miss. Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano and Kelli Garner all make indelible impressions in brief moments.

The film is a powerful and emotional journey, but not a perfect one. The massive undertaking means that characters disappear. Groff disappears for far too long. His sensuality is needed in the final acts. Conversely, Mamie Gummer takes far too long to register, though her final scene is wonderful. And the journey is a personal one. The film won't resonate strongly with everyone.

The biggest problem with the film is that it contains no concert material. The music from the concert is always heard in the distance, and Elliot never quite makes it. This is a problem because it's so obviously missing.

Certain events can change the trajectory of our lives. The lasting interest in Woodstock 40 years out is that it changed the trajectory of so many lives. It's quite intimate and beautiful to see Elliot become comfortable in his own skin, to come to peace with who he is during this summer of love.

It's also relevant today. There's something going on in our culture now that makes Hair the most successful revival of the Broadway season and Taking Woodstock so powerful. Maybe the age of peace and love is returning in some trippy form. At Woodstock, half a million people came to share, care for and love one another. The myth may have overpowered the fact even before the concert ever took place, but it showed us that we're all connected and that's a lesson really worth remembering.