Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)

Neil Young: Heart of Gold: Directed by Jonathan Demme. With Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham. A film shot over during a two-night performance by Neil Young at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

“OK, Iu0026#39;m a long time Neil fan, and I must admit to a little trepidation upon going to see this film tonight; one of the great things about Neil is that you never know what youu0026#39;re going to get. Prairie Wind turns out to be a beautiful meditation on mortality and age. Age is everywhere in this movie: Neilu0026#39;s never looked older (though he still looks great), Emmy Lou Harrisu0026#39;s crystalline beauty is yielding to age (though her smile after the dog tune was still as radiant as ever); Larry Cragg is, well, craggier than ever. Mixed in here are the recent death of Neilu0026#39;s father, the coming of age of his daughter Amber, and his own brush with mortality in the form of a brain aneurysm. Jonathan Demmeu0026#39;s work allows the luminosity to shine through undiminished; the ambivalence and intensity contained in some of the songs, especially u0026#39;When God Made Meu0026#39; is amplified by the Demmeu0026#39;s fearless framing and ability to stay on a single shot minute after minute. Neil Fans: Look for a few great cameos: Old Black being played by someone who is not Neil; Larry Cragg playing the banjo lick on u0026#39;Old Manu0026#39; (sweet); and even Cortez the Killer makes an appearance (but not inside the Ryman). Notice Pegiu0026#39;s gracious reaction when Neil dedicates a tune to Nicolette Larson. I had the great pleasure to see the film with my young son, and it was moving to see him take it all in. All in all, a really moving movie….Iu0026#39;ll be seeing it again.”