Taking Woodstock

Overview

Ang Lee’s tribute to the 40-year anniversary of Woodstock is not quite the film you’d expect. Based on the memoirs of Elliot Tiber, Lee’s movie is much more a family drama in the vein of his previous film The Ice Storm or even Sense and Sensibility, than a nostalgic case of ‘thank you for the music’.

Instead of taking to the stage, we go behind the scenes of this historic event: to Elliot (Demetri Martin) and his cash strapped, eccentric, immigrant family who wind up hosting the hoard of hippies in their run down motel. Entirely ignorant of the extent of this cultural tsunami, Elliot and his indefatigable parents (Henry Goodman and Imelda Staunton) end up going on one far out trip.  â€¨â€¨Shot with vibrancy and splashings of 60s split-screen flourish, Lee and cinematographer Eric Gautier display an obvious affection for their subject matter. Even the act of recording the event is captured in eager reflexivity, with reporters, photographers and film crews wandering in and out of screen; no doubt a nod to Michael Wadleigh’s Academy Award winning, epic documentary Woodstock.

Liev Schreiber is quirkily soft as a worldly transsexual, while Emile Hirsch brings a poignant humour to his Vietnam veteran. Feature film newcomer Martin evokes a hint of Dustin Hoffman in his unfulfilled everyman Elliot, and almost holds his own against Staunton’s pocket-rocket of post-war immigrant angst.

Taking Woodstock is a curious microcosm set within the transformative macrocosm of 1969 America. Those looking for a music driven, band tribute will surely come away disappointed, but audiences willing to journey behind the line up may well enjoy spending some time with the unlikely patrons of this watershed event.