The biggest complaint most viewers have of David Chase‘s masterpiece HBO series The Sopranos is the finale’s unresolved ending. Fans of The Sopranos who might want to check out Not Fade Away because it was written and directed by Chase, stars Sopranos lead James Gandolfini, is set in New Jersey, and features Steven Van Zandt as producer and music supervisor be warned: Not Fade Away is similarly unresolved. There are many interesting characters in the film, and none of them are truly resolved in the sense that viewers are used to in traditional narratives.
But that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have strong points. Not Fade Away serves as a loving look at the 1963-68 era of rock music, perhaps one of the most creative times in popular music history. Douglas (John Magaro) is a skinny suburban Jersey high school kid who sees music as a way to finally get noticed by his crush, Grace (Bella Heathcote). After all, if scrawny, weird-looking Mick Jagger can do it, why can’t he? Douglas plays drums in a band with his friends Wells (Will Brill), who never believes that the band is good enough yet he also perpetually believes that they’re on the verge of stardom, and Eugene (Jack Huston), who thinks highly of his talent with the guitar but grows increasingly jealous over Douglas’ growing role in the band. Douglas faces immense resistance from his father (Gandolfini), the type of working-class overbearing Italian father that Gandolfini could play in his sleep. Before discovering The Beatles and The Stones, Douglas told his father he wanted to go to college and join the ROTC, but now, much to his father’s chagrin, he becomes a long-haired, peacoat-wearing, Beatle-boot strutting, college dropout rock star wannabe (i.e. everything a 1960s working class father would despise).
In his remarks after the film’s screening, Chase pointed out that the film is essentially about freedom versus security, and that theme is prevalent throughout the movie. Naturally rock and roll represents freedom, something Douglas’ father traded in long ago to provide for his family. And it seems that what he disapproves of is really Douglas’ rejection of responsibility and security, in which he professes to be an “artist” and free-thinker while he lives under his parents’ roof and plays in a band that is going nowhere. Likewise Douglas and his friends naturally are opposed to the Vietnam War and say many cross words about it, but on the two occasions that they come in contact with soldiers they suddenly have nothing to say. Pat demonstrates that he at least understands his son even if he doesn’t agree with him during a touching dinner scene in which he makes a startling confession. This is Gandolifini at his best.
The rest of the cast is wonderful too, particularly Huston whose character is a rock legend in his own mind — it’s quite apparent that though these boys want to be rock stars they’re largely unable to get their shit together to be on the same page for more than fifteen minutes. But as effective of a storyteller as Chase is in setting up this world he fails with bringing any of their stories to a satisfying conclusion. It’s clear the band never makes it — if the in-fighting doesn’t give that away the opening narration says so outright — but to nearly two hours making the audience care about these characters only to leave their stories unresolved is completely unsatisfactory. Yes, I know life goes on for these characters after the film ends, but only so much can be “left to the audience to decide” before that becomes an easy out. It’s not enough to simply drum up “hey, remember this stuff?” nostalgia, especially for people under sixty who weren’t alive during the sixties.
On all other fronts — acting, costuming, tone, and above all a stellar soundtrack — the film succeeds. There are also a lot of clever jokes about the era that can’t help but cause a smile. But because of the lack of any sort of wrap-up Not Fade Away could have ended at any point in its last half hour. That’s a sign that something wasn’t working, and the very preachy and odd closing narration does nothing to solve this problem.
Rating: A well-made rock and roll period piece in all but one essential aspect — a complete story! (5.5/10).
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