Sure to please both die-hard Cohen fans and the newly initiated, this film is full of captivating music and offers an intimate portrait of a truly singular artist, poet, songwriter, cultural icon.Leonard Cohen–songwriter, poet, former monk, ladies man, and sharp dresser–receives a near-hagiographical treatment in I’m Your Man, a part concert-part documentary in which his work is interpreted by an array of singers. Cohen tributes are nothing new, what with Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat and the multi-artist compilations Tower of Song and I’m Your Fan having preceded this one. But music producer Hal Willner, who has spearheaded similar projects focusing on Thelonious Monk, Kurt Weill, Harold Arlen, and Charles Mingus, is especially skilled at putting together rosters of diverse and unexpected artists, and he’s done it again here, matching superstars U2 with the likes of Nick Cave, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Kate’s offspring Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton, Antony Hegarty (of the group Antony and the Johnsons), Jarvis Cocker, and others. Whether all of this works or not will naturally depend on the viewer’s point of view. Cohen is no one’s idea of a great singer, but he’s certainly a distinctive one, with his ocean-deep basso profundo and the slow insinuations of a guy who, having been a Zen monk, certainly understands the virtues of patience; his lyrics, too, are sui generis, personal but rarely mawkish, at once plain and cryptic. To these ears, performances by Orton (“Sisters of Mercy”), Teddy Thompson (“Tonight Will Be Fine”), and the Handsome Family with Linda Thompson (“A Thousand Kisses Deep”) come closest to capturing Cohen’s spirit without actually impersonating him. On the other hand, the overly mannered stylings of the McGarrigles and Wainwrights are an acquired taste, at best; Rufus’ louche posing, affected vocal delivery, and cute, tango-esque arrangement of “Everybody Knows” pretty much overwhelm the song (he’s much better on “Chelsea Hotel No. 2″), and Martha’s “The Traitor” is scant improvement. Cohen himself appears on just one number (“Tower of Song,” with U2), but interview segments are scattered throughout director Lian Lunson’s film; now in his seventies, he seems to delight in perpetuating his own legend, serving up elusive comments like “I was alive in the horror” and “Things got easier when I stopped expecting to win.” Bonus material includes deleted scenes and more. –Sam Graham
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March 5, 2010
#1
i`m familiar w cohens work– some of it i haVE ENJOYED- I FIND HIM OVER RATED IN GENERAL–but THIS DVD IS NOT ENTERTAINING AT ALL– THE SINGERS ARE ALL SINGING OFF KEY– ALL OF THEM ARE BAD SINGERS— SINGING OVER RATED MATERIAL SO DRAMATICALLY IT WAS LAUGHABLE TO ME—BUT ULTIMATELY I HAD TO SKIP THRU THE SECOND RATE NON TALENT THEY SCRAPED TOGETHER TO DO THIS—- WhEN JUDY COLLINS SINGS SUZANNE– YES ITS GORGEOUS– WHY WASNT SHE IN THIS ? I TELL YOU NOT ONE SINGER SANG IN TUNE —- WHO LISTENS TO THeSe PEOPLE ? WHO Are they ?? if u love this guy cohen– maybe you would be interested in this dreck— being tone deaf would also help a lot– and a lover paltry melodies and lame lyrics– pretentious– it is also pretentious—
March 5, 2010
#2
I realy thought this retrospective would join my collection right up there with the “The Last Waltz” by Robbie Robertson and the Band and Roy Orbison’s “A Black and White Night”. What an incredible disappoinment.
Unfortunately even for me as a Canadian it lacked the usual dependable redeeming feature that it was at least about a Canadian. I am embarrassed we could not do any better than that.
Save your money to pay your taxes or something that will definitely bring you more pleasure than this piece of totally uncreative, inane, nostaligically indulgent, poorly produced trivia.
March 5, 2010
#3
I was disappointed. This CD is Leonard Cohen’s music but NOT Cohen performing the music.
March 5, 2010
#4
This product should be bought after listening to most of Leonard’s albums.
Remember this is not Leonard singing, it is a tribute to him by other singers. I fully understood it because I already have heard Leonard singing almost all the songs. I also learned that there’s a couple of songs that I should get ( buy his albums) in order to hear “the man” singing them himself !
Still, if you are a “hardcore” fan of Leonard, you should buy this. The film is very touchy and full of songs with “feelings” . I really like some of the performers, I will actually check them out and buy their albums too. The film is highlighted with Leonard’s comments.
Angela Lauridsen
March 5, 2010
#5
Excellent. Both the shots of Leonard Cohen talking about his life & his work, & the singers presenting his work were incomparable.