From the first 10 minutes of Brett Morgen’s new film Moonage Daydream, it’s clear it isn’t a film for new fans of Bowie. Just like Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back from last year, this documentary assumes the viewer already knows the subject of the film and immediately immerses them in the artist’s world. While Get Back was stripped down and showed us a more human view of The Beatles, Moonage Daydream begins the film by reacquainting us with David Bowie the persona, not the man.
The rapid-fire editing that accompanies the film’s first act is jarring at first: archive footage interwoven with music or Bowie’s words, sliced like a child would cut out fragments of a magazine when making a collage. As the film goes on, the editing becomes second nature, and adds to the intensity the documentary is trying to display.
The archival footage is gorgeous and immersive: concert footage mixes with television appearances and home videos to create a distanced intimacy. Moonage Daydream is more abstract than director Brett Morgen’s previous work on Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. It’s not a clear-cut documentary, but one that analyzes an artist through the art they made and the art they loved.
Morgen has a particular way of immortalizing the subjects he focuses on, portraying them not just as these larger-than-life artists, but as humans who meant something to their fans around the world. Moonage Daydream spans the artist’s decades worth of work, up until his death. While it’s less personal than Montage of Heck — in regards to getting a clear view of an artist and their thoughts — Morgen’s newest documentary remains visceral.
The mythos of dying and Bowie’s death isn’t lost in the film, despite its restrained approach, but instead of ending it on a dire note, Morgen ends the film with Bowie waving to a crowd, lit up by a spotlight. Sinuous narrations of Bowie’s voice crooning statements like, “All people, no matter who they are, all wish they would have appreciated life more,” cue the viewer in on what this film truly is about.
If you’re looking for a documentary about David Jones, this film isn’t for you. Morgen unabashedly uses the film’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime to analyze David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, and every other persona the artist adopted. While some may say the film is lacking because of this, as it moves on it becomes clear why Morgen chose this route: Moonage Daydream was never about David Jones, and neither was the work and artistry of David Bowie.
The film is intimate without being exploitative, and it lets the footage speak for itself. While Bowie’s profound voice recordings are used as narration throughout the film, Moonage Daydream never feels like it’s trying to manipulate you into feeling something. The final shot, a hand basked in neon light reaching out during a Bowie concert, is enough to pull at your heartstrings.
David Bowie’s work was always larger than life, and sometimes took on a life of its own. Even after his death, the only people who truly knew Bowie were his loved ones. Brett Morgen honors the artist and his memory by making a film that does the same. Instead of being a “tell-all,” Moonage Daydream explores the music and mystical aura that made David Bowie so popular and beloved. After all, it’s the music that matters, isn’t it?
