This is a documentary about a concert. Not a Cohen concert, but a tribute concert. Many artists came together in Australia to perform cover songs that showcase the -songwriter- that Leonard is. Knowing this before I went in to the movie saved the experience for me.
Some of the performers were Nick Cave (sigh), Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton and (my aunt will sigh longingly here) Jarvis Cocker.
There were some great performances of Cohen songs interspersed with fantastic footage and interviews of Leonard himself. Those left you wanting more and wanting him to sing his songs.
Throughout the movie, Edge and Bono are also interviewed and because they weren't in the tribute concert, we wondered what they were doing in this movie.
At the end of the film, our desire to hear Leonard's voice sing and the answer to the U2 question were both fulfilled. The camera pans back and you see Leonard, Bono, Edge and a Vegas-esque showgirl on a tiny stage. They are singing I'm Your Man and that's great except the stage is framed by red sequined curtains and the scene is so Twin Peaks bizarre that the WHOLE audience laughed. Poor Bono. His politics are good, but he takes himself far too seriously most of the time to pull this scene off.
I give it a 3 1/2 because I love Nick Cave and he gets great screentime. Also, the interviews with Cohen are so great and reveal a sly, smart, zen monk of a man who is one of the great poets of our time.
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