They
know the blues in Memphis. One star-in-the-making also happens to be
particularly good at giving the blues. In fact, the blues are downright
contagious in Tim Sutton’s Memphis,
which screens during this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Willis
Earl Beal essentially plays a fictionalized version of himself. His electric
bluesman is poised to break out, yet he keeps self-sabotaging. When you get him
talking, he has some colorful things to say. Unfortunately, like many
characters in the film, he is prone to amble about deserted parking lots and
other pretentious art cinema backdrops.
Granted,
Memphis offers plenty of local color.
Sutton often stops by the local Hallelujah church for a fix of gospel choir and
ambiguous ruminations on the role faith plays in the lives of its average
working class members. Clearly, this is a depressed city (at least this is the
case for the neighborhoods Sutton and Beal traverse), but to his credit, Sutton
presents a nuanced portrait of the city’s economic and social realities.
Featuring
Beal’s tunes and the supplemental music of Scott Bomar, Memphis gets the soundtrack right. However, you would be hard
pressed to find a narrative in there. Still,
Beal has two truly great scenes that might be cobbled together into a
compelling short. In contrast, the rest
of the film feels like snoozy filler.
