I Am Trying to Break Your Heart A Film about Wilco Single Disc Edition
This splendid documentary captures the band Wilco’s struggles (both with their record company and within the band itself) while recording their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is completely engrossing, whether or not you are familiar with the band. As they work on the album, there’s some tension between singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy and bandmate Jay Bennett, but overall the band members are happy and enjoying exploring their music. But when they turn in the finished songs, their record label drops them, leaving them adrift with the album that promises to be a huge artistic leap. For fans of Wilco, this gorgeously photographed movie will be a thrilling look at the life of the band and Tweedy’s creative process; but even novices will be drawn into the contrasts between art and commerce brought out by the conflict. –Bret Fetzer
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Nice documentary
It’s a good documentary, black and white pictures, nice concert scenes, worth the while and the money
5 Stars Essential for any music lover
When this movie originally came out in the theatres in 2003, it played exactly for one week here in Cincinnati, but you can be sure I did not miss it. Loved it from start to finish. For whatever reason, I never bought the DVD when it came out, until a couple of weeks ago and so this was my first time re-watching the movie, 5 years later.
DVD1 (92 min.) of “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” brings the original theatrical release, and re-watching it 5 years later, and knowing full-well the story that it brings, it remains a marvel to watch. Originally intended as simply following how the band makes a new album, it turns into a full fletched drama (band members leaving, label rejecting the album, the band persevering, etc.). One hilarious moment that remains with me is when the band is on the road and Jeff Tweedy and his family walks into a fast-food place and he says “I don’t have any money”. It’s probably not that they were broke, but it’s probably not too far from the truth either… Since those days of course, the band has become a huge success.
DVD2 (80 min.) brings a bunch of scenes that weren’t included in the movie, including the band performing in various places and settings. There is also a too-brief “making-of” segment that is quite insightful. On top of that, this release includes an absolute fantastic 40 page booklet with insights from the director and others on the making of the movie (with pictures). In all, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” is essential for any serious music fan, on the same level as, say, “DIG!”. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
4 Stars Fricke’s Picks
Although Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has been among my top-ten records of all time since I picked up a copy shortly after its initial release, I waited almost 5 years to see this documentary film about the album (released in 2003). Why? For one thing, the album speaks very loudly and boldly for itself. When I heard about the documentary I was resistant to add any more information to the process of understanding this album for fear of detracting from the experience. However this week I finally caved. The album has grown with me so much over time I really wanted to learn more about its creation.
I am hardly an objective viewer and I think I would have enjoyed any film containing the music from the album, but there were some elements that really stood out to make the viewing experience impactful. First was the footage of the band’s creative process, developing the material as a unit. I was surprised in fact how well the band interacted as a group (at least at first), when I had always thought of Tweedy as more of a type-A. Additionally, live footage abounded, and there were some very nice performances of “Being There”-era material that reminded me why that album was so much fun. Despite the new emphasis on deconstructionism, the band never lost its ability to “rock” in a more conventional sense. I think this speaks highly for their versatility. Further, David Fricke (of Rolling Stone) and others contributed some very thought-provoking discussion of the clash between art and commerce in the modern music industry. The struggles surrounding this album can in fact be seen as a microcosm of a larger problem impacting artistically ambitious musicians in an era where the public’s attention span for such things is shrinking. This in fact points the way towards the rise of indie labels devoted to “career artists” which seems to be occurring right now. Finally, the film had a distinct plot with obstacles to overcome (the band being dropped by its label) and a happy ending (owning creative rights to an album funded by a large label and essentially selling it back to them at a higher cost). In true rock n roll fashion, Wilco “stuck it to the man.”
The drawbacks? The main one was the focus on the falling out between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett. It was hilarious to see Bennett’s explanation of the ouster (a defensive statement boiling down to: “Tweedy was threatened by my brilliance”) yet it also cast him in the worst light possible, lampooning his arrogance to make it seem almost cartoonish. I am sure there was more to the story than we were shown. Additionally, Jeff and Jay’s discussion over the details of the sounds coming through the mixing boards was excruciating (and fortunately pretty short). It reminded me of watching my parents argue when I was a kid – they obviously both saw the world from a different perspective and it seemed like they just weren’t going to see eye-to-eye on certain things. I can see why Jeff had to throw up after that discussion, I wanted to as well. This part was a little too close to reality TV drama for my liking.
However this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and the film did achieve its purpose – to help the viewer gain more perspective on the album and the process of its development. It also cast the band in a very human light, as fundamentally regular people working together to create a significant artistic statement. I learned a lot about Jeff Tweedy and crew but not so much so as to make me feel like some kind of voyeur – in other words, the band’s personal life was largely left untouched and the focus was placed where it should have been – squarely on the music. And what music it was.
2 Stars Bad Documentary with Good Music
I was fortunate enough to be at the world premier and have just recently tried making it through this film again. Years later, it’s not any better than it was the first time. I love Wilco and all the songs so that part of the film is great. Any Wilco fan will eat up all the fantastic performance footage.
It’s just not a very good documentary. My general feeling is that Sam Jones approached this as a fan and didn’t want to do anyhing that would jeopardize his filming access especially when everything changed with the band lineup and record label. As a result there’s nothing here that seems like it wasn’t Jeff Tweedy approved. Interviews with the other band members and differing opinions are practically non-existent. John Stirratt in particularly seems surprisingly absent considering how long he’s played with Jeff and how many band members he’s seen come and go. Jay’s actual firing is missing which makes no sense unless it was dictated by some kind of contract that Sam was working under. Either Sam wasn’t agressive enough with the cameras and interviews or a lot of unflattering stuff ended up in the trash. It’s still a great story of perseverance and success but in the end I felt that the film was unneccesarily cruel to Jay and dishonest in its tone in order to make the story work.
5 Stars Don’t call us, Wilco you
I’m pretty new to Wilco. Still in that phase where every fresh exposure is exciting, a revelation. So I’m ill-equipped to say how good this look behind the scenes actually is. To me, it’s incredible. I’ve been listening to YHF for about a year, and complete familiarity with the work still eludes me. Luckily, because it’s that fresh sound that brought me to the band in the first place. Anyway, I’m still completing my YHF thesis, and this is the ultimate study sheet. The boys, experimenting with the songs on creation, even as I experiment with them on consumption. It’s too much, riches beyond belief.
I haven’t investigated the genesis of this project, but it appears that the filmmakers were extremely lucky. What should have been just another band profile wound up having an arc — not just one, but two major (and completely unforeseeable) plot points. The fiasco with WB and Wilco’s new album, and the ejection of Jay Bennett from the band. The latter worked especially well for me, as every appearance of Bennett made his neediness more transparent. One scene in particular is painful to watch, as Bennett is relentless in having not just his views, but every syllable of the discussion, put under the microscope. It’s easy to see how Jeff Tweedy may have decided that this collaboration had outlived its usefulness.
I’m not sure how well this movie would work for the uninitiated, or for non-fans. I don’t believe that Wilco is necessarily an acquired taste — I was hooked from my first notes — but I do think they’re a band that won’t work for everyone. Tweedy’s reedy voice is not the strongest instrument out there, and the band’s arrangements are idiosyncratic, to say the least. If you like them, I think you’ll really like them. And if you don’t, you may well wonder what the fuss is about. In the music and, especially, this film. Which takes their uniqueness for granted, as principle #1. If you don’t get it, this film may be a tedious exercise, at best. I don’t know. This movie was made for me, and I bought it all.
And, hey, as a spoiled Wilco fan, I’m looking forward to the sequel. The making of “A Ghost is Born”? Where do I find that? I imagine the title will be “You can’t hear it on the radio.” Can’t wait…
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