The film I wish was about me

Andre Robinson, Gleaner Writer

I'm a young film geek - even though I prefer enthusiast - who's somehow found his way, after years of blogging, to be writing for The Gleaner.

I spent the last few days thinking about how it would be best to introduce myself to you. Eventually, I came to the realisation that the best way to go about this is to talk about one of my all-time favourite movies that I tend to relate to a little too much.

The film that I'd like to discuss today is Cameron Crowe's Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film, Almost Famous.

The film is set in 1973 America, where a young social outcast, William Miller, dreams of being a rock journalist. He's been idolising all of these artistes ever since the he listened to the Who album his sister gave him after she left home.

Now, at the ripe age of 15, he somehow manages to land a job on the road with an up-and-coming band Stillwater, where he's writing a piece on them for Rolling Stone magazine.

The character of William has always resonated with me. He finds the difficult task of being enthusiastic, while trying to be professional. He wants to applaud these artistes not just because they're cool but because they make great music that makes him feel things that he's never had the opportunity to feel himself.

personal biases

While I refuse to assume that anyone would look at me and call me a full-blown critic, I hope, at the same time, that folks don't see me as a fanboy that refuses to look at art objectively. I know that anytime anyone - including William and me - critiques any form of art, there is always going to be personal biases involved.

One thing about this film that I love is that it talks about how art transforms people, and this is not just limited to the creators of the art. We see how the character of Russell Hammond, played by Billy Crudup, starts to believe his own hype as he's touted as the next best thing and going to outgrow the band soon.

At the same time, we also see Penny Lane, played by Kate Hudson, who's a girl who loves music even more than she loves any man, and ends up reaching a low point in life, thanks to that very music she loves. All Penny wants in life is to be able to pinpoint the note of the song she influenced, while being able to sit in a darkroom with her stereo blasting and feel the vibe.

These are traits that all fans and critics possess.

Something about criticism most people don't seem to comprehend is that people who openly criticise art don't want to hate art. It's actually the contrary - we want to love it. The truth of the matter is that I can't live without the existence of the art, so any (no matter how foolish the result) creation that anyone from Paul Thomas Anderson to Uwe Boll can make is going to be more worthwhile than any article/ opinion that I can come up with that trashes or praises their work.

When I praise a film - especially the low-budget films - it's not because it's not that summer blockbuster that skipped out on screenwriting and plot, it's because I honestly love the film and all I want is for you to experience the same joy that I did when I watched it. This is what I see mostly in every character of Almost Famous.

The band Stillwater does what it does not so much for the money or the fame, but for that moment when they can look into the crowd and see someone 'getting off' to their music.

I see Almost Famous as a modern classic because not only is it a film which shows the coming-of-age story that we've seen in over a hundred films each year, but it digs a little deeper to talk to its audience about its own raison d'être. It doesn't just sit on the sideline and asks you to chuckle at the jokes but asks you to recognise that not only is it talking about itself but engaging in self-critiquing.

What movie makes you think about film as more than just a 90-minute diversion from your day-to-day life?

Email feedback to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com. You can find more of Andrew's ramblings at www.gmanreviews.com and on Twitter @gmanreviews.