8.5
Amazon Prime Video (Rental)

Look at that... Who could say it isn't beautiful?

David Byrne's sole (to date) directorial effort is a wonder: a playful, beautifully idiosyncratic roadtrip/Western/musical, TRUE STORIES is a celebration of-- and loving satire on-- Reagan-era Americana generally and small-town Texas specifically. Drawing on numerous cinematic influences-- the surrealism of Bunuel here (a less nasty version of PHANTOM OF LIBERTY, I thought), the comedic rhythms and slightly confused sense of wonder of Jacques Tati there (PLAYTIME, MON ONCLE), the vignette style of Robert Altman (NASHVILLE)-- TRUE STORIES still retains a flavour all of its own thanks to the unique, eccentric style of Byrne (who acts as both a character within the film and a fourth-wall-breaking narrator) and the brilliance of his (and Talking Heads') music, which provides a rousing greek chorus throughout the film. Starting with a potted history of the state of Texas, Bryne then zeros in on (fictional) smalltown of Virgil, introducing us to a variety of kooky characters, including a woman who lies constantly, another who refuses to leave her bed as a bizzare flaunting of her wealth, and John Goodman's Louis (the closest thing the film has to a central protagonist), a self-described "panda-bear" shaped man who is desperate to find love. Using the sesquicentennial celebrations of Texas as its base, the story follows these characters through a series of fascinating, amusing and frequently rather esoteric vignettes (the lip-synch karaoke scene being my personal favourite). The film could so easily come across as annoyingly quirky or arch, but there is a sincerity to the way in which the characters are portrayed, an unpretentiousness in the performances, that make it work. In some ways, the film could be seen as a flipside to David Lynch's BLUE VELVET, which came out in the same year; both are impressionistic films which purport to examine the nature of American suburbia. But whilst Lynch finds only violence, abuse and darkness lurking just beneath the surface, Byrne sees wonder, hope and kindness, a sense of 'live and let live', albeit with just the faintest note of disquiet as to the pace of capitalistic progress and the uncertainty that that can bring. Ironically, Lynch's subsequent TWIN PEAKS has, in its lighter moments, more than a passing resemblance to TRUE STORIES. And the film's ironic sensibilities and tender evocation of small-town life can be seen in various subsequent films, including the playful, whimsical comedies of Christopher Guest, the Coen brother's early output and, of course, the symmetrical, eccentric, self-contained worlds of Wes Anderson. In its keen, hopeful observations of human nature, gorgeous cinematography and fantastic music, TRUE STORIES remains an underrated minor classic.