Dan Curtin
Of the Frontpage Milwaukee staff
November 2009
Title: It Might Get Loud
Studio: Steel Curtain Pictures
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Starring: Jimmy Page
The Edge
Jack White
Run Time: 97 minutes
Rating: PG
The electric guitar has been around since the 1930’s and has been a popular culture mainstay ever since rock ‘n’ roll was created, so it is very surprising that it took this long for someone to make an engaging documentary featuring the beloved instrument.
It Might Get Loud is a documentary by director Davis Guggenheim and was made by Steel Curtain Studios and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. The film stars three guitar gods from three different generations:
-Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin
-The Edge from U2
-and Jack White from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather
At first glance, the basic premise of the film seems to be: what would happen if you took three of the greatest guitar players of the last 40 years, put them in the same room, and let them discuss music and jam for an hour and a half? It Might Get Loud does contain some of those elements, but rather than being a self indulgent movie about amazingly talented rock guitarists showing off, the film instead focuses on each musician’s influences, backgrounds, and artistic drive.
It Might Get Loud stands out from other rock ‘n’ roll documentaries, not only because of its three different and unique subjects, but also because of its nonconventional story structure. Whereas other “rock docs” such as the Grunge documentary Hype!, and the 1980’s Heavy Metal documentary The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years followed a linear story structure, It Might Get Loud bounces from one place to another without ever losing its focus. It Might Get Loud benefits from the fact that all three guitarists have completely different life stories and careers, which helps give the film its unique identity.
American producer/director Davis Guggenheim is probably best remembered for winning an Academy Award for directing Al Gore’s global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and for producing hit TV shows such as The Shield and Alias. It Might Get Loud could not be further away from the subject matter of Guggenheim’s previous work, but it is clear from the outset that each musician gives Guggenheim plenty to work with.
It Might Get Loud starts with a shot of Jack White making a very simple guitar out of a plank of wood, a couple of nails, a guitar pickup, and one guitar string. White plugs his homemade concoction into a vintage amp and plays a furiously loud slide guitar riff, setting the stage for what is to come. The next few scenes show The Edge and Jimmy Page in rooms surrounded by guitars and effects pedals, noodling away as they try to give the audience a sense of how they are able to pull such amazing sounds from their instruments. The rest of the film follows a non-linear path that has each guitarist talk about their upbringing, their desire to play music, and their specific musical influences. These individual interviews are centered around clips of all three guitar players sitting in a room talking music and teaching each other how to play songs such as “In My Time of Dying” by Led Zeppelin and “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” by The White Stripes.
The choice of guitarists for the documentary makes sense at first as each guitar player has their own distinct style and influences, but it quickly becomes clear that U2’s The Edge is the odd man out. The Edge talks about how his style of guitar playing was an attack against the over indulgence of 1970’s rock music, but while that may be true, that is the exact kind of music that Jimmy Page has built his legacy on. Jack White may not share the progressive rock or jam band tendencies that Jimmy Page has, but it is clear that Jack White and Jimmy Page both have mutual roots in the blues. In the end though, it is better to hear from conflicting viewpoints rather than have three guitarists all talk about the same styles and influences.
Surprisingly, the best parts of the movie are when each guitarist is by himself talking about their upbringing and showing clips of their musical roots. Seeing The Edge and the rest of U2 rock out in ridiculously outdated 1970’s glam outfits is quite a treat, as is rare footage of a 15 year old Jimmy Page playing in a skiffle band. Jack White plays off of the public’s perception of him as an eccentric by talking about his bizarre childhood of growing up as the youngest of ten children in a predominately Latino neighborhood in Southern Detroit. White’s current influences may be blues musicians such as Son House, but early clips of him playing in a punk band called The Upholsterers are quite eye opening due to the raw and abrasive nature of the music.
In addition to old film footage, current day interviews, and concert footage, there are various cartoon clips throughout that visually describe White’s childhood bedroom packed full of instruments and colors literally coming out The Edge’s guitar amp. The concert footage is hit or miss as most of the Led Zeppelin and U2 clips are already available on various DVD’s, but grainy clips of Jack White playing with The White Stripes and The Raconteurs are highly entertaining. One will never look at a bloodied instrument quite the same again…
A documentary about rock ‘n’ roll would be nothing without a good soundtrack, and It Might Get Loud delivers the goods in spades. “Whole Lotta Love,” “When the Levee Breaks,” and “White Summer” by Led Zeppelin, “Icky Thump,” “Blue Orchid,” and “Fell in Love With a Girl” by The White Stripes, and “I Will Follow,” “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” and “Elevation” by U2 are all in the film in either studio or live incarnations. It Might Get Loud is capped off with an impromptu acoustic performance of The Band’s “The Weight” by all three members.
Overall It Might Get Loud is a highly entertaining and informative documentary, but viewers should be forewarned; those looking for a 90 minute jam session between three guitar gods will leave the theatre unimpressed. It Might Get Loud is more about the electric guitar and rock ‘n’ roll than it is about the three musicians within it. If you are looking for a truthful look at rock music and the instrument that defines it from three legendary guitarists, then go out and see It Might Get Loud as quickly possible.