‘I’m not a songwriter. I’m not a sex symbol, but I am an entertainer...’
It’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised by something. I’ve no interest in the music of Neil Diamond. I’m not particularly enamoured with Hugh Jackman. Director Craig Brewer has never made anything I’ve loved. Kate Hudson is great in Almost Famous but I haven’t really followed her career since then. But then, Hudson’s performance here earned her a Best Actress nomination and so Song Sung Blue found itself on my radar. Turns out I enjoyed it way more than expected…
Brewer’s film is the true story of husband-and-wife singing duo Lightning & Thunder (Jackman and Hudson, respectively). Based on the 2008 documentary of the same name, the film charts the first meeting of Mike (Lightning) and Claire (Thunder) to the formation of the band, a disastrous first show, opening for Pearl Jam and the other ebbs and flows that make up a career in the music industry. The supporting cast includes Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens and Jim Belushi.
I said at the top that I’ve no interest in the music of Neil Diamond but I have to admit, there are some proper bangers here. Many I’d not heard before, some I’d heard before but didn’t know who sang them… either way, I found the musical component here to be much more effective than I ever could have hoped for. On the acting side of things, Jackman is pretty good, he’s certainly a charismatic and likeable presence, but this is Hudson’s film. Despite this being a strong year for the Best Actress category (Jennifer Lawrence probably deserved a nod for her heart-breaking performance in Die My Love), after seeing Hudson’s turn here, I can’t really begrudge her her place at the table. This is more than just a lifetime achievement nod.
While the plot follows the typical highs and lows of most musical biopics, the film is so imbued with warmth and humanity that I was fully invested by the end. Both Jackman and Hudson do a great job in making you care about the characters, and while I probably could have cut a couple of the longer musical sequences, Song Sung Blue is still a touching and effective story told with love and tenderness.
I imagine nobody will remember this film in five years but let’s give Kate Hudson her flowers – she’s phenomenal here and, even if, like me, you’re sceptical, I promise you that you’ll get hooked in as I did.
