To make a good documentary, you need to be flexible. You can't go into a project with a fixed set of opinions and directions you will be taking. You need an idea - sure - but you have to be ready to let the film go where the subjects lead you.
To make a good rock doc, you need talented, interesting, and engaging musicians who are more than just the notes they play. You need to tell the story, even though you don't really know what the story is going to be.
Gorman Bechard accomplishes both feats mightily with "What it Takes." He proved his mettle long before with classics like "Color Me Obsessed." And it seems like just a short while ago he brought us the power of "Who is Lydia Loveless?" which also included some of the best live performances I've seen in recent years. Rather than rest on his laurels, another knockout punch is delivered with Sarah Shook and the Disarmers in "What it Takes."
As he explains, Bechard wanted to focus on a relatively unknown band, and follow as they fought the battles to get their first real break. And in Sarah Shook and the Disarmers he had a terrific band, great songs, and more energy than Nikola Tesla dreamed of. But a funny thing happened on the way to the documentary: Sarah Shook and Disarmers get their break before filming even begins...in part by way of a music video Bechard did for them, which is featured by Rolling Stone. And before you know it, the ride has started before everyone had a chance to strap themselves in.
I won't spend a lot of time describing the music. You owe it to yourself to experience it for yourself. "What it Takes" will make a great introduction to that. You can call it what you want: outlaw country, rock and roll...the category isn't important. It either breathes fire or it doesn't. Sarah Shook does.
Like any great filmmaker, Bechard didn't fight to keep his focus on the story he planned on. Instead the film becomes not just the story of the band, and the story behind the band, but also a detailed look into the pressures of the making of their second album "Years," and the need to follow up on the rave reviews the first album "Sidelong" continues to receive.
In Sarah Shook, Bechard shows us a formidable personality built of half whiskey and half dynamite. Bringing us along the journey, she reveals the events and tribulations that made her into the person she is today. We're also given a close but hands-off view of her songwriting, and how the recording process works. A thought becomes a song becomes a track on the album, lyrics woven with the musical talents of five individuals.
There is a strong sense of family in this film. But not just the dynamics of the band; that is the central family to be certain, but each person has their own family to love, care for, and worry about. The balancing act of part-time band to full-time musicians is brought in full focus, as each must contend with their jobs, separation from their families, and the close quarters the musical family is squeezed into in the studio and on the road.
A band like Sarah Shook and the Disarmers is a much different animal than a group of twenty-two-year-olds giving music a whirl in hopes of hitting it big before settling into their "real" careers. Sarah, Eric, Phil, Howie, and Aaron have already had ups and downs before we ever get to them. Breakups, bad record deals, and a more mature outlook on life and family give a unique perspective on a band discovering that they stand on the edge of success. Do they have what it takes? And more importantly, are they ready and willing to make the sacrifices going all-in require?
It's worth your time to find out. Besides, how can you resist a film with the tagline "A vegan, pansexual, atheist, civil-rights-activist singer/songwriter and her band of seasoned virtuosos walk into a county/western bar..."?
