Talking about a film like BIG EASY EXPRESS is always tricky for me. I say that because as much as I love film, I also love music, and those two passions don’t always agree. Such is the case with this rock doc about a railroad tour featuring Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, The Old Crow Medicine Show, and Mumford & Sons. The tour started in San Francisco, and took them across the American south to New Orleans.

The resulting film left me divided, and I think we should start with the negative.

This documentary is directed by Emmett Malloy, the very same gent who captured the White Stripes Canadian tour three years ago. Malloy knows how to spark a conversation, and how to tell a story. I say this, because as a film, BIG EASY EXPRESS has no interest in storytelling. I have no idea who these musicians are, what drew them together, what they are gaining from this unique opportunity, or anything beyond the fact that they all like each other and being on the train.

Now the film looks fantastic – especially the concert footage where multiple shooting styles and aesthetics come together to capture the warmth and energy of these truly gifted live performers. However, the film hasn’t packaged itself up as a concert film. It’s a tour diary, and as such must be measured against TRUTH OR DARE, and Malloy’s own UNDER THE GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS.

Sitting in a class with those films, it doesn’t make the grade.

What this film does well is allow the music a chance to speak for itself. I dare suggest that anyone who watches this film will come away as a fan of all three bands. It exemplifies the edge an act gets by being (as Prince would say) real musicians playing real instruments. The music mix of the film is splendid, and probably sounds even better than it did live at those dusty fields on those sweaty nights. As the music plays, we sense the lift in the crowd when they rally as one to participate in songs like “Little Lion Man” and “Home”. It’s not hard to understand why these moments galvanize the crowd – the only thing that’s hard os stopping yourself from singing along.

When the action stops on-stage, the music tends to continue as the bands gather back on the train and jam in a manner befitting THE FESTIVAL EXPRESS. They huddle in dining cars and observation decks, letting their rootsy tunes bounce like pinballs around the crowded compartments. It’s all a joy to listen to, and sometimes a joy to watch. If I were to plug in my headphones and just listen to these 66 minutes, I’d call it a win…but that’s not what a film like this is out to do.

The measure of a film like this is what it offers anyone who isn’t already a fan of the bands on-screen. To that end, BIG EASY EXPRESS offers precious little. Anyone who checks it out is in for some fabulous music…but not much more.

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