The Quiet One

Greetings again from the darkness. Very few rock stars would be content having the nickname "Stoneface", or having a documentary on their life titled "The Quiet One", but then Bill Wyman is not a typical rock star. Having quit The Rolling Stones after being a member for 31 years, Wyman allows director Oliver Murray to present his life ... a life meticulously documented and cataloged through home movies, photographs, memorabilia, and personal diaries.

Most of our glimpses of octogenarian Wyman show him hunched over a desk in what appears to be the basement of his house. The room is painstakingly organized by year and category on multiple shelves. It has the look of a library or a Smithsonian backroom. We see musical instruments, photo albums, diaries and other collected items of note. Some of Wyman's own videos and photographs are used to chronicle his life. It begins in his childhood in war-torn London as German bombers fly over, sending Wyman's family into the air raid shelters.

We learn of Wyman's first band, The Cliftons, and how he transitioned to playing bass by default. It's interesting to hear Wyman speak of his musical influences, starting (obviously) with Chuck Berry, and then spiking with Duck Dunn, the bassist for Booker T and MG's. His heartfelt recollection of meeting Ray Charles is a reminder that music is more than a job ... it's the make-up of a musician.

A documentary about the bass player for the greatest rock band of all-time would likely focus on the glamour, drugs, debauchery, hit songs, and world tours ... and director Murray (his first documentary feature) touches on all of those. However, this is really an intimate look at Bill Wyman the person, more so than Bill Wyman the rock star. We learn the source of his stage name, his closeness to late band member Brian Jones, his anti-drug stance, his military stint, and about his 3 marriages - including the scandal around his second to the much younger Mandy Smith.

Wyman's own personal archives provide the foundation for much of what we see on screen. It's an impressive collection and he comes off as quite an introspective fellow. When discussing his bass playing, Wyman states, "If you play it right, you don't get noticed." The film opens with the raucous "Paint it Black", and as much as I hate to differ with Mr. Wyman's description, we quite easily notice his bass is the driving force behind the classic song. He quit the Stones after 31 years (and one final world tour) to concentrate on family, explore music with his own band, spend more time on photography and travel, author a few books, consult, and organize his diaries and memorabilia. For "the quiet one", the archives tell his story.

This film is exceptional telling the story of the life of Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman. I loved the way they narrated and edited it with real life video and pictures dating back to his childhood. Apparently Wyman kept most everything he acquired or filmed throughout his life. And they used much of it making this. They put it all together telling a memorable account of his life with his band mates, friends, mentors and especially other musicians who helped shape his musical thinking. Nothing was done in a salacious way. Instead it was straight forward non-fictional story telling that left you wanting more at the end.

My only complaint was that it was too short. I wanted more. I highly recommend this.

I've been a fan of the "Rolling Stones" ever since the early sixties. Strange as it seems I'd never really paid that much attention to Bill Wyman considering I'm also a bassist. I knew he played good solid bass but I was always more drawn to the much more flamboyant Mick Jagger and Keith Richard. This movie gave me a whole new perspective on the band and a complete respect for Bill Wyman. He's the one I should have been listening to. His wisdom is really refreshing and he pulls no punches even when the truth is very painful. I will be buying a copy of this movie for my collection. It really is that good.

THE QUIET ONE (2019)

I've been a fan of The Rolling Stones music my whole life; I didn't know much about bass guitarist Bill Wyman until now.

Rather than being a documentary filled with close-ups of talking heads and jammed with concert footage, this is a beautiful life journey about Bill with his own words. I'm touched by the humility and groundedness he retained in a life that began roughly in war torn London, wandering through rubble from the blitz in WWII. He was raised by a grandmother that he revered. Born William Perks, Jr., he was so at odd with his non-supportive father, he shucked his last name and took the surname Wyman from a man he admired in the service.

This film somehow reminds me of oragami; it unfolds to reveal a 3D image. Bill sits in a room surrounded by his stuff, an astounding archive, a capsule of his life. He had a computer before anyone else, he took tons of photos of his life, including his thirty-one years with The Stones. His memories, things he meticulously collected his whole to life to record, catalogue, and remember fill his home attic. He kept a journal since he was a kid. In this movie we get to see snippets of the memorabilia; I would love to be able to wander through this Bill Wyman museum.

A founding member of the greatest rock and roll band of all time, Wyman had an anti-drug stance. In the press he got coverage for having a reputation with women, but this film wasn't about that, and I didn't need it to be. Here, layers of the onion are peeled back, and the reveal is lovely.

There are moments in this film, such as when Bill describes his meeting with Ray Charles with such tenderness, respect, and awe, I was moved to tears. I recommend this film to anyone, even if you're not a fan of the music. It's a great character study of a man well worth getting to know.

While this would be a must see for fans of the Rolling Stones, others who have interest in the rock era will find this film fascinating. It's a thoughtfully produced documentary providing great insight into Bill Wyman, the person, the musician, and the times that had an influence on him. Of course there is a treasure trove of background into what made this great band tick.