Jazz seems perfectly at home when paired with film, especially in black-and-white imagery. Particularly in stories set in the 1950s or early 1960s. And especially in New York… This is also the case in the English director Grant Gee’s debut fiction film, which is ‘different’ as a music film: a portrayal of the famous jazz musician, the American pianist-composer Bill Evans, at a time when he is unable to make music.
A nonlinearly structured biography that moves twenty years forward in time begins with a cool live session in July 1961, during which a couple of highly acclaimed albums were recorded. But the main focus is on the impact of bassist Scott LaFaro’s death in a car accident on his friend Evans: how, in his grief, he needs a complete break from music, first staying with his older brother Harry’s family and then at his parents’ home in Florida. Attention is also given to his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend Ellaine – and with heroin.
Anders Danielsen Lee, Joachim Trier’s trusted actor, gives a skilled performance as Evans, an uncompromising musician and a depressed chain smoker. Bill Pullman and Laurie Metcalf are great as parents who bring warmth and humor. The 16 mm camera work of Piers McGrail creates a poetic feeling that sits perfectly with music, time and melancholy.
Timo Malmi