Barnes & Noble

By turns a concert film and a biographal portrait, I’m Your Man attempts to capture the elusive essence of poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen. Cohen’s music is represented by various artists performing at a tribute organized by the innovative producer Hal Wilner, while the Canadian wordsmith slips in and out of the narrative as a talking head, discussing the vagaries of his eventful life. The consistent beauty and passion of the performances reflect the admiration felt by a disparate assembly of singers that includes Nick Cave, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Jarvis Cocker from the Brit-pop band Pulp, New York cult figure Anthony, and neo-folkers Teddy Thompson and Beth Orton. Highlights include Cave’s mordant reading of “I’m Your Man,” Martha Wainwright’s chilling “The Traitor,” Thompson’s shyly romantic “Tonight Will Be Fine,” Rufus’s campily tangoed “Everybody Knows,” and a heartbreaking “If It Be Your Will” by the androgynous-voiced Antony. Woven throughout are Cohen’s own quiet, penetrating reflections and observations on a life that has encompassed la vie de bohème in Montreal, '60s revelry at the Chelsea Hotel, world fame as a singer-songwriter, and extended studies at a Buddhist retreat. When the master finally sings a closing “Tower of Song” -- in a studio performance supportedd by an adoring U2 -- the payoff is more than worth the anticipation. Steve Futterman

All Movie Guide

Leonard Cohen is widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential poets and songwriters of his generation, a writer whose artful mélange of love, eros, and despair has earned him a passionate international following and the respect and admiration of artists ranging from R.E.M. to Johnny Cash. In 2005, music producer Hal Wilner staged an all-star tribute concert in Australia in which a handful of major artists offered their interpretations of Cohen's songs, including Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Kate and Anna Mcgarrigle, and many more. Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man includes highlights from this concert and thoughts on Cohen and his work from the participants as well as an extensive interview with Leonard Cohen himself as he talks in detail about his life and his art. The film also includes a special performance of "Tower of Song," in which Cohen is accompanied by U2. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 031398204343
• Source: LIONS GATE
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:43:00
• Sales Rank: 3,331

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