Review of Not Fade Away (2012) by Danifesto G — 13 Jan 2013

NOT FADE AWAY is about a group of guys starting a rock and roll band in New Jersey in the 60's, a glorious time for music with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan entering America's consciousness. David Chase (the reason I saw the film, or even heard of it for that matter) perfectly captures this musical revolution in American suburbia. You really get a sense these bands were entering uncharted waters, and the public was more than willing to embrace them. The 60's was sort of a magical time: new music, new drugs, new thinking; a new youth (at least for the white folks). This is all captured in NOT FADE AWAY, and the atmosphere and tone is what makes this film work.

What doesn't work as well unfortunately are the characters. The protagonist, a Bob Dylan-looking-wannabe, isn't a very likeable person. He's a dick to his family, especially his father (the one and only James Gandolfini, by far the best actor in this film). He doesn't seem to get along too well with his bandmates either, although they're all mean-spirited, too (it was cool seeing Jack Huston from BOARDWALK EMPIRE without a mask, though). In fact, the only person I kind of liked was Bella Heathcote, lead dickhead's girlfriend, but that probably had more to do with the fact I found her attractive. Her actions at the end of the film suggest she may not have been so likeable, either. Speaking of the ending, there wasn't really an ending. It all seemed up in the air, and the viewer doesn't know what will become of the characters. It seemed like the ending of a television pilot.

David Chase created a masterpiece of a show with THE SOPRANOS. It was rich in character, plot, and drama (and it was pretty funny, too). But he had time to do all that with an hour long show every week for eight years. NOT FADE AWAY has one too many subplots, none of which really get concluded, and too many characters that aren't likeable, or worse, not interesting. I'll give credit for the music; it's amazing in the film and works really well with the images Chase provides (SOPRANOS was also good at this). I also loved the black-and-white opening where we meet a young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards talking about forming a band (awesome!). In conclusion, I did like NOT FADE AWAY, but unfortunately it's not as good as it could have been, or worse, not as good as it should have been.