Pearl Jam Twenty

When the grunge rock movement began in Seattle in the early '90s, filmmaker Cameron Crowe was living in the area and spent a good deal of time covering the music scene. At the forefront of the movement, which spread like wildfire across the globe, there were two bands: Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Yes, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and a number of other bands made significant marks but it was the aforementioned duo that made grunge the all-encompassing phenomenon that it was. If you've ever seen a Crowe film, you know he has a connection with Pearl Jam; I'm pretty sure at least one PJ song can be found in each of his films, including We Bought a Zoo, an addition that made no sense but was nonetheless awesome. Pearl Jam 20 serves as Crowe's ode to his favorite band as he traces their origins back to the pre-Eddie Vedder days and follows them up through their most recent album, interspersing concert footage with intimate interviews and some home videos to create a portrait of what could be America's last great rock band.

Much like Crowe himself, I am borderline obsessed with the grunge era. I think Nirvana saved music and you can't convince me otherwise. Pearl Jam is probably my favorite band going right now and so for me, PJ20 was an outstanding way to spend two hours. This isn't exactly the in-depth, investigative sort of documentary that many critics were hoping for. Rather, it's almost a love letter to the band and the music of the era from a fan to the fans. And personally, I'm okay with that. It was thrilling to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of the band and the history of how they came together. I've read some of this information before but it's different to actually watch the band talk about themselves and about their music. The grunge era is such a fascinating, exciting subject and Crowe's ability to weave together the various elements he uses to tell Pearl Jam's story is incredible.

The early days of the band are of particular interest as Crowe examines the way in which the members of the group came together and the work that led to their breakout album, Ten. Through the various interviews and video clips, you are able to get a real feel for the brotherhood not just among the members of Pearl Jam but also among all members of the Seattle music scene, regardless of band affiliation. In one clip, Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) stated that his musician friends from New York couldn't believe how supportive each band was of the next; New York bands viewed themselves as competitors while the grunge acts saw themselves as parts of a whole. In many ways, that feeling of togetherness is representative of a movement that was embraced by millions of (young) people from different walks of life who felt disenfranchised by society in general, let alone the crap that dominated the airwaves at the time.

One of the more intriguing parts of the film is the way in which it displays the changes in the both the personalities of the band members and the music they put together. As PJ20 progresses, you witness the evolution of both band and individual. Front man Eddie Vedder is almost out of control in early footage, both on and off stage. There's a sense of frustration, almost rage, that pours through in every song. Later concert footage and interviews show a much more controlled and mature man who has traded anger for political and social angst but one who still knows how to put on an incredible show and make fantastic music. It was engrossing for me to watch the changes take place over the course of 20 years and brought a new appreciation for some of the band's music that I haven't always been as impressed with.

If nothing else (and perhaps above all else), PJ20 offers up an enthralling anthology of Pearl Jam on stage. The concert footage is exquisitely cut and distributed throughout the runtime so that it never becomes a true concert film but also never allows the viewer to forget that these guys represent a powerhouse on the stage. The mix of early footage with more recent shots (including an IMPECCABLE performance of Release from a few years ago) provides a powerful sampling of the truly special body of work Pearl Jam has put together over the years. I would have loved for Crowe to delve deeper into the middle years of the band in which there was an apparent, if unspoken, conflict between the band members or give more insight into the origins of some of Pearl Jam's more popular songs. But as it stands, PJ20 provides a beautiful and heartfelt look at one of the world's most prolific rock bands.

Please check out my reviews: ieatfilms.com and thesoapboxoffice.blogspot.com

I'm a fan club member... and just a huge huge fan of the band. Been a fan for a very long time.

This film is as good as it gets for Pearl Jam fans! I saw this at TIFF. And I can honestly say I was never disappointed about any part of this film.

It captures the essence of the band perfectly with a very good and subtle amount of humour.

I'm going to see this again in theatres.. and oh MY I cannot wait until this is released on Blu-Ray / DVD.

A Must see for any Pearl Jam fan... and any fan of rock music for that matter.

Cheers

To be fair, before seeing this film, I had grown up with Pearl Jam's music through my dad. And though I "liked," or "didn't mind," their music, I had always seen them as a "dad band." That is, until my dad and I watched this film together upon its release, and I realized for myself truly how amazing Eddie, Stone, Mike, Jeff, and Matt are. I was only 13, but the events and interviews shown in this documentary changed my opinion on the band (and possibly on music in general) forever. Since then, I have seen it countless times, and it has not loss its brilliance. I can't quite put it into words, but the way that Crowe portrays the humanity of the band and its members really makes you look at them and their music differently. It covers everything from the band Mother Love Bone, which spawned Pearl Jam (unfortunately due to the death of its lead singer), to Pearl Jam's massive popularity in the 90's, and to their continuing legacy today. This documentary/film is a must-watch for any fan of Pearl Jam, and for anyone who is at all interested in the band or likes any of their songs. I guarantee you will be a bigger fan coming out of it than you were going in.

PJ 20 is rich, smartly edited, brings incredible footage and tells interesting stories, but it should not receive 10 out of 10 for one big reason: it promises 20 years of history but only delivers 10. Obviously the first 10 were the formative years. However a lot happened during the latter decade which is barely touched by the film.

The nuance in a lot of segments is to be loved. But it is sort of tricky that the five of them never appear together in the present time interviews. It tells a lot about how this great band works and should have been further explored.

Overall though PJ 20 is a great film, specially for the initiated.

I have to admit I'm not what you will call a fanatical worshipper of Pearl Jam's music enough to compel me to watch what would be THE documentary this season with a single session, simultaneous screening around the world where PJ fans will likely already have made a beeline for. Instead, I'm a bigger fan of writer-director Cameron Crowe than the subject matter of his documentary (ok, so this sounds a little bit blasphemous), given that it's been years since we last saw a Cameron Crowe film hit the theatres, although that wait will soon be over by the end of this year with the release of We Bought a Zoo.

Pearl Jam 20 chronicles the beginnings of the band back in the year 1989 where Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard came together after the demise of their band Mother Love Bone, and like all successful bands that came before it, was subjected to recruiting and changing of members until the perfect chemistry was achieved, culminating with frontman Eddie Vedder, with his distinct growling voice, joining the band, and together put alternative grunge music on the radar of music everywhere. Sure there were many others in the same vein since the 90s was the era where this sound had taken the world by storm, with what would possibly be the largest rivals to Nirvana before Kurt Cobain's passing.

You can probably read a lot more details on the band from its Wikipage, and Cameron Crowe's film digs through large treasure troves of archival footage from television newsreels to more independent, off the cuff capture of the band's early years, that we get to witness the second earliest band performance ever and plenty of other home made videos that expectedly get pixelated for the big screen. Crowe's background as a music journalist being a tremendous factor in the crafting of this film, where in lesser hands would have been relegated to the standard talking heads interviews, and to stuff the film with chock full of music videos and live performances from the band's tours around the world.

Instead, Crowe provides the narration, and shares interesting nuggets of information through what would be a largely chronological format without overwhelmingly bombarding the audience with too much information. Being on close terms with all the band members and collaborators also allowed for unfettered access to more intimate and honest interview answers, with the utilizing of milestones in the band's career to timestamp the feature, including their courtroom lawsuit with Ticketmaster. But with everything crammed into two hours, expect some areas of focus to be skimmed through as Crowe paced his documentary at breakneck speed to cover as much ground as possible, mixing it up quite a bit with comedy, pathos, and allowing the many visuals both moving and static to breathe and tell a story.

It's about the capture of a phase of growing up, where looking around I see folks around my age group (or older) who had grown with the band in the 90s when we were in our teens where music played a large part in our lives, as we shift through the sands of time with the identification of many songs from the band's discography, where I didn't even realize that Daughter was supposed to be called Brother initially, and listening to Vedder actually sing it that way during a practice on the tour bus, is reason enough amongst others why fans just have to watch this, and perhaps reminisce the times where they had seen their idols perform on stage during one of the many concert tours done worldwide at the peak of their popularity.

And that is if a theatrical release gets secured soon, which I suspect would be the case given the sold out, one off screening. Watch for it!