Music
NXNE FILM REVIEW: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Sensational & Red Shirley
by Allan Tong
June 17, 2011
@ NXNE: Friday, June 17, 6:00 pm & 7:30 p.m.
Maverick. Innovator. Genius. Alcoholic. Crackhead. Homeless. Underground hip hop star, Sensational is all of these in this portrait directed by Elizabeth Moore. The film charts his meteoric rise out of late-’90s Brooklyn to fame and riches, then spiraling down just as quickly in a haze of booze and drugs until he lives on the streets for five years before finding a good woman who gets him on his feet.
That’s not exactly a new story, but Sensational is such a charismatic guy that you cheer for him despite his own stupid demons. Rise and Fall however could’ve milked the drama in Sensational’s roller coaster life further. At times the film relies on too many talking heads and doesn’t build suspense or surprise. A glaring omission is not interviewing Sensational’s saviour, the girlfriend who plucked him off the streets and sobered him up. She’s reduced to a footnote, when she’s the turning point of the story.
Decent movie, but could’ve been better.
More straightforward—and unexpected—is Red Shirley, directed by Lou Reed. Don’t expect the Brooding Bard of New York to sing in this 28-minute film. Instead, Lou talks to his 100-year-old cousin Shirley, who recounts fleeing anti-Semitic eastern Europe to settle in New York where she became a union organizer in the garment trade. The filmmaking is basic point-and-shoot with a few still photos inserted between interviews. It feels like a home movie. If Lou Reed hadn’t directed, would this film be screened?
That said, I liked Red Shirley. Shirley is a feisty centenarian with a remarkable life story to tell. Also, it’s refreshing to see Reed shed his streetwise image to laugh and chat with his cousin like an ordinary guy.
