Ryan McNeil
There’s a fine line between lying and “faking it”. If you think about the lies you’ve told, or the lies you’ve been told, they often come with an underlying malice. When they are discovered, they leave one feeling betrayed since the lie served no other purpose than to benefit the liar. On the other hand, “faking it” can come with honour. It evokes the idea of a “college try”, where one knows they are overmatched, but they believe they might be able to pull off the stunt they have laid out in their heads.
It’s a lot like having the bravado to stand behind a microphone and sing for a crowded room that may or may not like what they hear…or to make a movie about the person singing despite questionable talents with a movie camera.
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS begins with indie rock band The National ready to hit the road in support of their album, High Violet. At the tour’s outset, lead singer Matt Berninger invites his brother Tom to tag along. Tom is a filmmaker who has, thus far, used his talents to create some small-time horror films. His hope is that he can put his talents to use creating a documentary about The National. To facilitate this, Matt gets Tom a job with the road crew…but life on the road isn’t as cool as it seems to be, and pretty soon Tom finds himself, and his filmmaking ambitions, on the outs with all involved.
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS is one of the very best rock & roll documentaries you will see. It paints an accurate portrait of life on the road as part of a rock tour. Many will think about touring and get visions of THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, or Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page”. The reality is that touring isn’t all that glamourous for the band, and is even less glamourous for the people working behind the scenes. Learning this by observation seems tough enough, living through it becomes an especially cold a dose of reality for Tom. By telling this specific story, the film gets a leg up on the typical tour diary that has accompanied many a band as they go on many a tour.
What makes the film even more amazing is Tom’s place within it. He’s so clearly out of his element, but wanting so very much to do something special. His struggles to find his footing – both as a member of the crew and as a documentarian – should almost be expected. It’s the sort of thing that happens when someone ordinary is folded into in an extraordinary situation. For a while, the way Tom continues to screw up makes it unable to look away…giving the film a curious car-wreck undertone.
However, the way Tom eventually finds both the story, and his place within it is a thing of beauty, and something I dare not reveal.
What Tom, Matt, and The National have done by coming together for this film is explore the strange dichotomy between fame and life. There are spoils and adorations that come to the super talented and super famous, and it can become a challenge for them to remain grounded in the midst of such a crazy run-around they call a “work day”. To the rest of us, their friends and their families, it might feel as though we cannot relate or that we don’t belong. We could well spend time with them and see glimmers of the people we know, but feel like they have become strangers to us.
The balance between the two is the trick for the artist, and recognizing the effort is the job for the rest of us.
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS could easily have become “just another road movie”. It could have been dotted with backstage hijinks or silhouetted performers striking poses under colored lights. It could have been created by any faceless, nameless, hired-gun director. However, given Tom’s unique relationship to the band, and the unique position he was put into while filming, the movie is able to become so much more memorable and honest.
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS is playing tomorrow Tuesday April 30 – 9:15pm at The Royal, and twice at The Bloor: Thursday May 2 – Midnight, and Sunday May 5 – 4pm. (official website)