I'm Your Man may be as close as we'll ever get to Cohen on film.
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2006)
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:21
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: A moving, if somewhat uneven, look at the legendary singer-songwriter, I'm Your Man treats Cohen's body of work with the reverence it deserves.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some sex-related material
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Theatrical Release:Jun 21, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $824,797
Synopsis: Leonard Cohen manages to garner fans from the unlikeliest of places despite his distinctly un-rock-&-roll appearance and a set of songs that veer closer to poetry than to their uneasy bedfellows in... Leonard Cohen manages to garner fans from the unlikeliest of places despite his distinctly un-rock-&-roll appearance and a set of songs that veer closer to poetry than to their uneasy bedfellows in the pantheon of popular music. But viewers looking for an in-depth analysis of the man behind some of the most deeply introspective music ever recorded should look elsewhere: LEONARD COHEN: I'M YOUR MAN contains precious little insight from Cohen himself. Instead, director Lian Lunson has pieced together a warm tribute to the Canadian singer, drawing on the words of his many celebrity fans while also sharing generous amounts of footage from a Cohen tribute concert staged in 2005. The concert was filmed in Australia, with the bulk of the celebrity testimonials coming from performers at the show. The eclectic array of artists taking part include Nick Cave, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and folk legend Linda Thompson, all of whom perform unique interpretations of Cohen-penned classics such as "I'm Your Man" (Cave) and "Chelsea Hotel #2" (Rufus Wainwright). Lunson intersperses the concert footage with interviews from the stars, the most vocal and effusive praise coming from the Edge and Bono from U2, who are seen backing Cohen on a rendition of "Tower of Song" as the movie closes. Cohen himself is also given some screen time in which he muses on a number of interesting topics, but Lunson's piece is mostly designed as a straight tribute to a man who has never sat easily in the contemporary music world, much to the delight of his fans. [More]
Starring: Leonard Cohen, U2, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave
Starring: Leonard Cohen, U2, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Antony, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton, Julie Christensen, Handsome Family, Kate McGarrigle, Anne McGarrigle, Teddy Thompson, Perla Batalla, Hal Willner
Director: Lian Lunson
Director: Lian Lunson
Producer: Mel Gibson, Lian Lunson
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
I'm Your Man never quite gets its man in a coherent frame, but for all its zigs and zags outside the lines, the portrait of Cohen that emerges is a fascinating one.
An odd but enjoyable concoction of biography, music commentary and concert.
In the end, it's Cohen's songs that are what this loving musical portrait is all about.
We hardly get to know Cohen from the biographical shorthand melded to a worshipful tribute show in which the Canadian singer-songwriter never even appears.
A tribute concert with earnest but mostly average performances gussied up with fawning if passionate praise from admirers and occasional bits of self-deprecation from Cohen himself.
Whatever the approach, the songs are sturdy enough to support it while remaining resigned and elusive, their words practically glowing in the dark.
The strength and beauty of Cohen's songs is, if anything, enhanced by the treatment they get from such folk legends -- and legends in the making -- as Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Kate's son and daughter, Rufus and Martha Wainwright.
Mr. Cohen is funny and charming while being brilliantly observant, so it's especially frustrating that this film about him is so reverent and humorless.
Bloodless where it should be bold, precious where it should be perceptive and irritating where it should be inspiring.
It's just a privilege and a pleasure to spend time with this material... and this man.
As a movie subject, Cohen has proven equally electrifying and elusive.
Cohen frequently isn't talking -- the subject too often goes missing from his own portrait.
Offering both too little material and too much, the movie leaves us in the bizarre position of understanding its subject no better by the end than we did at the beginning.
It's enough to send fans and converts alike to the Cohen library for more of the master himself.
The raspy-voiced troubadour is celebrated in the mesmerizing documentary Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.
If you're going to make a documentary about Leonard Cohen, the singer-songwriter, you should have him perform some of his better-known melodies, like Suzanne.
Lian Lunson's wonderful documentary portrait combines pieces of an extended interview with Mr. Cohen with a tribute concert at the Sydney Opera House in January 2005.
Because Cohen is such a colorful, eloquent central character, I'm Your Man overcomes its flaws. His music may not be everyone's cup of folk-rock tea, but his stories of lost love, self-doubt and creative struggle ring universal.
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