Movie Blog: 'Take Me To The River' Review
Take Me to the River has a quality many documentaries lack: it gets better as it goes on. At first, director Martin Shore's love letter to the music scene of Memphis feels like it might be one of those making-of documentaries with too much studio footage to be seen outside of fandom. But as its legends of soul and blues music sing on screen, a story unfolds that reverberates with incredible vitality. The takeaway? That without the music that's flowed from the Mississippi Delta, Americans wouldn't be the same.
On a basic level, the film shows the making of a record featuring a range of Memphis musicians. The idea was to make a sort of living document celebrating the city's historic scene. The songs recorded – classics like Rufus Thomas' "Push and Pull" and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" – feature an ensemble cast, stretching across generations and musical genres. Rappers like Yo Gotti throw down alongside soul legends like Bobby "Blue" Bland, and children perform opposite musical veterans now in wheelchairs. Even non-Memphians like Snoop Dogg pay their respects, despite rap being viewed as somewhat suspect by some elder statesmen. Still, the project's scope is extraordinary, even if some of its fruits seem more interesting on screen than in earbuds.
As the film unfolds, the importance of the project becomes clear. These recordings may be the last a few of these musicians will make, and several colossal Memphis figures died before the documentary was released. In that sense, Take Me to the River has a considerable historical gravitas, and that depth is echoed in one of the film's central stories: the death of Martin Luther King Jr. The great humanitarian was assassinated in Memphis, and the city's music scene, which transcended racial barriers, suffered incredibly for it. Still, the music lived on -- in the people, on wax, and in American culture in general. Now in the city, the legends of an era gone by are tending new talent. One moment that captures this perfectly shows "Blue" Bland giving an impromptu singing lesson to a child rapper named Lil P-Nut. The old singer shows the kid how to properly "put some sweetness" on a blues lyric. After a few tries, the kid nails it. The exchange is all sweetness, and a reminder of how powerfully music binds people together, creating beauty, culture and community.
Take Me to the River is playing at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis.
