Chris Knight
Not Fade Away
2.5 stars out of 5
Starring: John Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill
Directed by: David Chase
Running time: 112 minutes
Parental guidance: Language, some drug use and sexual content
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David Chase has been busy for much of the past decade making TV?s The Sopranos, so it?s not surprising his newest movie feels a bit half-baked. The story of a group of rock-band wannabes in 1960s New Jersey, this is The Contraltos. There?s even a part for The Sopranos? James Gandolfini as a father who just doesn?t understand kids these days.
John Magaro plays Douglas, the central character in a story that manages to lose track of him from time to time. Entranced by the music of Bo Diddley and The Rolling Stones, he gets his mates together and starts playing covers in recreation-room parties, all the while dreaming of bigger things.
One of those things is his neighbour Grace (Bella Heathcote), who grew up alongside him and thus has an awkward time moving from friend to romance territory. This is further complicated by the attention given her by Douglas?s bandmates, played by Jack Huston and Will Brill.
If Not Fade Away (named after the oft-covered 1957 song by Buddy Holly) confined itself to the rise and/or fall of Douglas?s band and/or love life, it might gel dramatically. But Chase, who also wrote the script and based some of it on his own adolescent dreams, wants to put as much into the film?s 112 minutes as he can.
The Kennedy assassination, the war in Vietnam and the changing cultural landscape are all sign-posted. Douglas is a fan of The Twilight Zone, but when he takes Grace to see Blow Up at the cinema, he?s dumbfounded: ?What kind of film is this?? Chase also adds voice-over narration from Douglas?s little sister, but so sporadically that it seems superfluous.
The film also suffers from odd pacing. It takes place over a number of years, but the action tends to skip from one holiday gathering to another. Some scenes are cut short just as they?re getting interesting, while the movie as a whole tends to drag. Longer scenes and fewer of them might be the solution.
Despite my caveats, Not Fade Away features strong, believable performances from its young cast, and deftly recreates the look and feel of early ?60s suburbia. Another editing pass might produce a more coherent film ? or perhaps Chase, a TV veteran whose resume stretches back to The Rockford Files, needs a multi-episode format to make the story shine. He certainly has enough material.
2.5 stars
Source: http://o.canada.com/2012/12/27/movie-review-not-fade-away/
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