Review of Lambert & Stamp (2014) by Matt C — 27 May 2015

Despite not really being a fan of The Who, I was looking forward to Lambert and Stamp. Although I like what I know of The Who, they haven't happened to be a band that I've gone out of my way to seek out in the past.

Luckily, this didn't hinder my enjoyment of the documentary, though. It may expect you to be familiar with The Who to a certain extent--I just happened to fulfill that exact extent. But, thanks to its balance of interviews and archive footage and its infectious energy, Lambert and Stamp is involving and informative, even though it may become a bit messy at times.

The entire movie clearly has a strong love for its subject matter. Being the directorial of James D. Cooper, it's clear that this is a story that he's been dying to tell. Surprisingly, that passion never feels biased but instead spreads its way to the audience.

This is thoroughly enjoyable, not just as a documentary, but as a piece of storytelling. The first five minutes or so may feel a little jarring given that the movie immediately jumps into its topic with little introduction, but it quickly finds its footing after that.

Each idea cohesively leads into the next even though the film covers a large amount of material, and its style mostly redeems itself or its imperfect execution. The problem with Lambert and Stamp is mostly related to how much content it covers.

As previously mentioned, the first five minutes are kind of slapdash, which seems caused by the fact that even for a two-hour movie, this is brimming with ideas. All them are acknowledged, but the pacing suffers because of how thoroughly it delves into its subjects.

There were some moments within the last twenty minutes or so when I felt like I was just being talked at despite my enjoyment of what had proceeded it. I was never bored, but I was becoming increasingly aware of how often the film seemed to jump between ideas without a ton of breathing room.

Some areas were too fast while others were a tad excessive. All of the information felt necessary and was intriguing, but the construction of its content didn't always feel as strong as it could have been.

There were also two or three bits where the sound mix was off and I had to make a conscious effort to understand the interviews that were being played against background music, which did begin to feel like foreground music, and not as a stylistic choice.

Regardless, I still had a lot of fun with Lambert and Stamp thanks to how involving it was. The problems listed here may sound like they really damper the movie, but in all honesty, they aren't pervasive.

With the film's clear love of its subjects and fair depiction of everyone, I came out knowing a ton more than I did beforehand. Whether or not hardcore Who fans will learn anything new from this may vary from person to person, but they'll without a doubt enjoy the retelling of these stories and events.

Its errors are noticeable but not quite distracting, and given how up-close and personal a lot of the film felt, the film itself felt like a warranted recounting of decades-old happenings, and a fun one at that.

7.7/10, solid, one thumb up, above average, etc.