Documentary Review: 'Moonage Daydream' A Gift for David Bowie Fans

Moonage Daydream (2022)

Directed by Brett Morgen

Written by Documentary

Starring David Bowie

Release Date September 16th, 2022 (Limited Release), September 23rd Everywhere

Documentary filmmaker, director Brett Morgen, has a gift for fans of David Bowie. It's arguably the greatest gift Bowie fans could receive that isn't a visit from the Thin White Duke himself from beyond the grave. Moonage Daydream is the very first documentary to be approved by the estate of David Bowie. It includes footage from the Bowie archives that has never seen the light of day. Concert footage from the late 70s, movie projects that Bowie himself commissioned but never finished, and rare interviews with Bowie that provide narration amid the dazzling, dizzying, and mesmerizing sonic and visual spectacle.

Moonage Daydream doesn't unfold in a linear fashion. Though it does tell us about Bowie's childhood, in his own words, it's not a straight ahead documentary narrative. Rather, the focus of Moonage Daydream is Bowie the icon, the music and then the man. The documentary is wall to wall with Bowie music and performances with Bowie himself offering narration about where his life was at the time he created this music via a series of interviews. Whether its appearances on Dick Cavett or a British chat show, Bowie consistently, shyly offers insights into himself and his work that aren't nearly as revealing as the music he creates. That's by design. Bowie wants to talk about art and music but most can't get past his look and their own biases about his look.

While interviewers were hung up on Bowie's makeup, outfits and shoes, Bowie appears baffled by the questions and the attention to his attire. He appears perfectly ready to discuss the philosophy and inspiration behind his music but clams up, rather appropriately as he's constantly questioned about his look and how unusual he is. Questions about his sexuality and his influence on his fans lead Bowie to a confused sort of bemusement that stops these interviews in their tracks. It's both charming and frustrating, charming from Bowie and frustrating that crusty interviewers can't get past Bowie's flamboyance to talk about Bowie's art. S till, these interviews are perfectly employed by Bret Morgen as a portrait of how shy Bowie truly was and how he was a reluctant superstar in his early years, willing to share but frustrated by closed minded fools beneath contempt for their weird fetishizing of his looks.

Far more successful is a female interviewer, I apologize for not catching her name amid the disorienting experience of Moonage Daydream, who gets Bowie talking love. It's a wonderfully nuanced and thoughtful conversation that plays as a piece of narration in Moonage Daydream. Similarly, when Bowie talks about falling in love with his wife, Iman, the obvious joy in his voice is just wonderful even as his happiness plays at odds with his still wandering spirit which cannot settle on a sound and a rather cynical worldview that led Bowie's years in the wilderness of popular culture.

Brett Morgen does a brilliant job of approaching the dichotomy of Bowie, the superstar and the artist, conflicted about success but desperate for the fleeting comfort of superstardom. There is a brilliant segment of Moonage Daydream that covers the most successful period of Bowie's career, his 80s yuppie phase. Let's Dance, Modern Love, and other top hits of that time are fantastic but even Bowie admits that he was playing the hits, playing what he thought people wanted to hear, and reveling in the trappings of being wildly successful.

Happy Bowie is a great thing but any artist will tell you that happiness and comfort are not the most conducive feelings for great art. If you can name a great song about being creatively satisfied, super-rich and famous, you're a better music lover than me. Bowie thrives on making himself uncomfortable as can be seen in his confining himself to far off locations for the recording of his records. Bowie was the ultimate nomadic artist, rarely putting down roots and always searching for something, a longing to create driven by that sound or idea that can only be found in a specific place. Bowie's records from the mid-70s through the end of his life involved going to different locations around the globe in search of something only he could hear.

When I write something, anything, generally speaking, I am listening to David Bowie. I generally pull up YouTube and set up a randomized Bowie playlist and dive in. I've been doing this for nearly a decade and I have come to realize that a good movie can distract me from how brilliant Bowie is while writing about bad or mediocre movies can take much longer as I drift off into some mental tangent about the Bowie song I am listening to. I have abandoned a couple of movies to chase after a review of a Bowie song only to find that it's too personal or effusively praising to actually publish. I become a bit of a fanboy trying to write about Bowie songs.

That said, I have listened to Moonage Daydream on repeat while I write this and because the documentary is so brilliant, I've not been distracted at all. The documentary is gorgeous, its vibrant and alive. It feels as if Brett Morgen has brought Bowie back to life for a moment. The narration is so lovely and provides such a unique insight into Bowie, even at his most bemused and shy, that you come away feeling as if you've met David Bowie. That's the highest praise I can give to Moonage Daydream. It may not be the real Bowie but it's as close as any of us will ever get and that's a pretty amazing thing.

Moonage Daydream opened exclusively on IMAX screens on September 16th, 2022. The film will go out to wide release on September 23rd. Find my archive of more than 20 years and nearly 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.Blogspot.com. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean and follow the archive blog on Twitter for older, random movie reviews, at SeanattheMovies. Hear me talk about movies on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast. If you've enjoyed what you have read consider subscribing to my writing here on Vocal. You can also support my writing with a monthly pledge or a one time tip. Thanks!