The 27 Club (2008) Reviews

• Several reasons why this movie is fantastic and an absolute MUST SEE

  ElkeNYC2008-04-27

  I had the good fortune to watch the movie's world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2008. It's a moving, thoughtful and yet highly entertaining movie with incredibly gorgeous cinematography. This is not your same old same old "road trip movie" nor is it one of the well known stories about a band. It's a little bit different and even surprising at times. The only flaw I can see in this movie is the last quarter of the movie which seems a bit too constructed and maybe even a bit rushed. Then again, the ending is really well chosen and makes you leave the movie with on an upbeat note. The acting is great. Joe Anderson is fantastic! He's able to show the difference nuances of his character and to transport what's haunting and driving him. The rest of the cast is believable and convincing too. It's a true character driven story which never gets boring. I highly recommend it to anyone who's in for 85 minutes with gorgeous pictures, great music, honest feelings and fantastic acting. Kudos to everybody and especially Erica Dunton! Love this movie.

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• Fantastic Film

  ethanfirst2008-04-28

  Quick review: The film chronicles the road trip of a distraught musician, Elliot, and a hired- driver, Three Words. (Named three words because all of his lines, I believe, consist of only three words). Elliot's best friend, and band-mate, just died of a cocaine overdose and joined the infamous 27 club. This is, of course, the name given to all of the celebrities who died tragically at the age of 27. Along the road trip, the two meet a nice Irish girl who accompanies them to Montana, and eventually New York to attend the deceased's funeral. Everything really comes together in this film, and makes it a true indie masterpiece. Joe Anderson's portrayal of a struggling musician is captivating, and he is complemented by fantastic performances from David P. Emrich and Jimmy Hager. Along with that, the stunning cinematography, fantastic direction, and original screenplay are really a formula for perfection. If you want a touching, thought-provoking, moving film, I highly recommend The 27 Club.

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• Enough originality and heart to make it worth the trip

  larry-4112008-05-13

  One advantage (or disadvantage, as the case may be) of attending film festivals is that trends become readily apparent. Within one 24-hour period here at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival I saw three road films -- all involving two guys and a girl. Within that same 24-hour period I also saw three films with suicide as a central plot point -- two in a row, in fact. One was "The 27 Club," and it combines both -- it's a road movie, with two guys and a girl, with suicide at its core. And even that's not totally original. In fact, one of my Top Picks of the past couple of years was Wristcutters: A Love Story, which was -- you guessed it -- a road movie with suicide as a central theme. Yet "The 27 Club" is a moving, poignant film which stands out among the rest. "The 27 Club" takes its title from a quip by Kurt Cobain's mother after his death in 1994, noting that, in addition to her son, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, and a host of other musicians had all taken their own lives at the age of 27. The film opens with one half of the fictional band The Finns, 27-year-old Tom Wallace (played admirably by James Forgey, mostly in flashbacks, of course), dying by his own hand. The bandmate he left behind, Elliot Kerrigan (Joe Anderson), sets out on the road with a grocery bag boy as his enlisted driver (David Emrich) along with Irish student Stella (Bono's daughter Eve Hewson) as a travel companion. The purpose of the trip and ultimate goal involve several mysteries, enough to keep the viewer guessing along the way. While the three are certainly unlikely travel mates, always making for good drama, "The 27 Club" is really a one-man show with lead actor Joe Anderson (Becoming Jane, Across the Universe) carrying the film from start to finish. His tortured soul of a rock star is frighteningly brilliant and totally believable. Still, "The 27 Club" is mainly story-driven and writer/director Erica Dunton has penned a clever script with just enough gallows humor to keep the movie from becoming too depressing. After all, how do you laugh when someone has just offed themselves? Through the use of flashbacks, the film often reverts to a non-linear narrative. Rather than confuse the viewer, though, it actually gives the film a heightened sense of urgency which only deepens the mysteries at the heart of the film. Cinematographer Stephen Thompson elegantly captures the beauty and lush landscape of the American west, with its sweeping vistas and stunning sunsets. "The 27 Club" has a true indie feel, with copious use of natural lighting and an original rock soundtrack that adds and connects to the film like few others do -- the songs are actually written and performed by The Finns, the fictional band featured in the story itself. This apparent contradiction is resolved when one learns that the movie itself created the musical act, as life truly imitates art. If "The 27 Club" seems heavy, well, it can be depending on one's own experience. The obvious caveat to anyone who has suffered a loss, especially to suicide: the film may either salt old wounds or be cathartic, depending on the individual. There are messages here but they are muted, not in-your-face with words of wisdom spouting forth from scene to scene. Despite its familiar themes, the story is ultimately unpredictable, with surprising payoffs at every turn. "The 27 Club" has enough originality and heart to make it worth the trip.

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• i hope you get to see this movie.

  ashole262008-05-12

  I was able to see this movie during the Tribeca Film Festival, on May 2 2008. This is an edited version of my original review, since the original would be too long for this site. Email me if you want to know what's missing. A little background is necessary for this film to be 100%. But the film can be watched and enjoyed fully without this background. The 27 Club is an urban myth surrounding the deaths of prominent artists whose lives ended at the age of 27 (Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, etc.) So when you are introduced to the main character of this movie, Elliot (played by Joe Anderson - who deserves an entire review of his own for this one), you can now understand the magnitude of what he is dealing with. His best friend is dead. At 27. They are the same age. No pressure, right? Now this plot can be taken into the realm of cheesiness very easily. Poor, poor rock star who loses his best friend and musical partner. He is so sad, and he hires a geeky grocery store clerk (David Emrich) to drive him across the country for $10,000. This geeky guy has no idea who he is driving, yet this guy is pretty famous already - not even taking into consideration that his mug is all over the news as the word about his partner, Tom (James Forgey) spreads as we as fans and viewers and human beings know that news can. Some perspective, from my point of view. I am 29. So lets think about this for just a moment, I was born in '79, grew up in the 80s, missed all of the "tragic" musicians of the 1970s. I was in high school in the early 1990s. And my binder, complete with clear pockets, was covered in pictures and album covers and writing in Sharpie all honoring one person, essentially. And that person was Kurt Cobain. And Kurt is a member of this elusive 27 Club. I remember absolutely everything about the day and week he died. It was everywhere. When the the underlying plot of this movie is revealed, that Tom, a 27 year old rock star in a popular band, has died, of his own hand essentially, the "fan" in me wakes up. "Wait a second...oh wow. Here we go again." is literally what went though my brain. And not in a way that made me not want to watch the movie. Because as soon as I thought that, I am given a background - a beautiful background which helps me follow this journey. And I am not just talking about Joe Anderson here, though he helps, with his beautiful blue eyes that instantly take me back to freshman year of high school, staring at Kurt Cobain on my notebook. What I am referring to is the road trip Elliot is taking - to clear his mind, or clog it, or whatever - you are never blatantly told what he is doing or what his ultimate goal is - which does not come across as frustrating, it comes across as a gorgeous landscape of America and of relationships and the complexity of loss in general. The 27 Club captures grief in raw form, and the indecision that comes with the first few days after a loss. Its a hard to explain emotion, if you haven't experienced a great loss, but if you have, when Elliot struggles with his own mind, body and soul during these few days, you will feel with him any great loss you have experienced. Joe Anderson is just that good. I could write a book on this film, but I will not bore you with my rambling on and on. I cannot end this without talking about others in the cast though, because Eve Hewson as Stella is wonderful. She is the young girl hitchhiker that is picked up along this road trip. This verges on spoiler, but I will not elaborate further than this - she recognizes Elliot and her mission matches closely with his, but she never lets on until the time is right. And when it is that time, it brought my first tears during this film. There were a few chin-quivering moments, but this moment brought the tears to the surface. James Forgey as Tom, while not a complicated role on screen, is an iconic role. James, when he is on screen as Tom, attracts the viewer. Not just in his looks, but the ease of which he portrays this character. You just believe it, and know you are watching potential greatness just fade away. I look forward to see this actor in other things in the future. And David Emrich, as Three Words, is in his simplicity, the yin to the yang. But again, not in an obvious and over the top way. You like him, you believe him and want him to grow, while surrounded by all of this complexity that he cannot relate to at all. Director Erica Dunton spoke at a Q&A following the screening I was privileged to see. She spoke very frankly about the plot of this movie, but when asked about the look of the film, I could sense the passion in her voice. And she achieved her passion - the film looks amazing. America looks amazing, which reinforced to me that no matter how great a loss is to you, you are but a small part of something greater and there is no better way to realize that than to experience that greatness. The 27 Club does that beautifully.

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• Surprisingly Good Movie

  dcwarf2008-05-23

  I was asked to attend "The 27 Club" at the Tribeca Movie Festival by a friend who was interested in the movie. Honestly, I was not overly excited about what I thought would be another drug-focused rock and roll movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself tied to the characters who were slowly developed through the movie. By the end, I truly was hoping that Eliot would find his purpose in life. I thought Joe Anderson did an amazing job with the character of Eliot. David Emrich also played the character of "Three Words" very well. The novel concept of only speaking in three words was never annoying as you might think it would be...it was actually intriguing to see how things would be answered in only three words. I did think that Eliot would eventually ask for his real name...but perhaps that would have ruined calling him Three Words. All in all, this was a very enjoyable movie with some young and talented actors.

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