Taking Woodstock
Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Demitri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber
Rated: R for graphic nudity, some sexual content, drug use and language.
Ang Lee’s films are always character-driven, whether they’re comic book adaptations (“Hulk”), nineteenth-century romances (“Sense and Sensibility”), martial arts epics (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), or romantic tragedies (“Brokeback Mountain”). His latest, “Taking Woodstock,” is no different. It gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the famous 1969 music festival through the eyes of the people who made it happen.
The actual performances at Woodstock have been thoroughly documented, so Lee wisely doesn’t try to recreate them. Rather, he focuses on the people behind the concert, specifically young Elliot Teichberg, whose memoir “Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life” is the basis for the film. Elliot is played by comedian Demitri Martin, whose standup is deadpan, earnest, and rather sweet. His portrayal of Elliotis the same, and it works — especially once we realize that, as with Martin’s standup, there’s more to the young man than there seems.
Like many of Lee’s films, “Taking Woodstock” is quiet and slow, and mostly about getting to know its characters as they interact. Elliot’s parents, long-suffering Jake (Henry Goodman) and iron-fisted Sonia (Imelda Staunton), seem like caricatures until we get to know them. They own a run-down motel in the small town of Bethel, New York. Elliot spends weekends and summers with them, helping them with the business and serving on the Chamber of Commerce. He spends the rest of his time in the city, where he has an interior design business and paints.
The motel isn’t doing well, and if they can’t catch up on their mortgage payments by the end of the summer, the bank will repossess it. So, when Elliot hears that a hippie music festival was kicked out of the nearby town of Wallkill, he offers them his parents’ motel. He already has a permit for the little music festival he puts on every year, so he figures the Woodstock folks can use that, and it will bring plenty of business to the area — especially his parents’ place. The locals aren’t happy about the idea of thousands of hippies overrunning their small town, but by the time they try to mobilize, it’s too late.
The cast of secondary characters is full of folks who could be stereotypes but aren’t, quite. There’s Vilma, an ex-marine transvestite played with utter seriousness by Liev Schrieber, who is about as built as he was in “Wolverine” and doesn’t bother trying to disguise his deep voice. It works. Vilma is utterly no-nonsense and volunteers to head security at the motel.Elliot’s friend Billy (Emile Hirsch) seems like the standard crazed Vietnam veteran type, but is more on the ball than he appears.
Then, of course, there are the swarms and swarms of hippie extras, the Woodstock nation that descended on Bethel for the concert and then went their separate ways after the three days of peace, love, and music. Lee constructs an atmosphere which makes it credible that the enormous, chaotic event went as well as it did in spite of the mud, electrical issues, and the infamous brown acid.
“Taking Woodstock” is not a film for folks looking for action and adventure. It’s thoughtful and funny and sweet and slow, and rewards close attention. This is a character-driven comedy drama, and not a typical Hollywood picture at all. It’s a nice change of pace from the huge, loud, gritty features filling the multiplexes. If you’re not in the mood for a couple hours of low-key groovieness, stay away.