Neil Young Trunk Show

Friday, April 17 - Monday, April 20, 2015

Intro by director Jonathan Demme Mon Apr 20 at 8:00pm show! DCP projection

“Jonathan Demme went in to film Neil Young’s two 2007 shows at Pennsylvania’s Tower Theater without a concrete plan of action, and it shows. But then, this is not the humbly reserved Young of the director’s previous, elegiac concert chronicle, Heart of Gold, and the onstage clutter (a corralling circle of guitars; a broken-down marquee; paint-splattered knickknacks) gives the game away. This is Young in his playroom, grabbing his toys at random while indulging his every antimelodic whim, and Demme’s off-the-cuff approach makes for the perfect aesthetic complement. In the process, the filmmaker has given us another consummate concert film that is easily the equal of Heart and his classic Talking Heads feature, Stop Making Sense.

“There’s a sense of synapse-sparking whiplash to the proceedings, especially in the discordant way the numbers—electric and acoustic, old tracks (‘Cinnamon Girl’) and new (‘The Believer’)—are cut together. TRUNK SHOW gives you the profound impression of wandering within an unhinged psyche, most notably during the band’s 20-minute thrash through ‘No Hidden Path,’ from Chrome Dreams II. Young seesaws maniacally around the stage, the music surging and regressing with exhilarating unpredictability, the end seemingly never in sight. It’s an unholy tantrum that Demme treats, quite rightly, like a miracle.” – Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

• Country USA
• Rating NR
• Year 2009
• Running Time 82 minutes
• Director Jonathan Demme

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.