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20 Feet From Stardom

In advance of its September 18th release to Netflix streaming, the music documentary Keith Richards: Under the Influence is playing the Toronto Film Festival as part of this year’s brand-new Primetime program, highlighting television alongside film for the first time. (Of course, Keith is a feature-length documentary directed by Morgan Neville, who won the Oscar two years ago for the feature documentary 20 Feet From Stardom; what makes this TV and Netflix’s other TIFF entry, Beasts of No Nation, a movie is anybody’s guess. Welcome to the brave new world of blended content!)

If you haven’t caught wise to the punny title, Keith Richards: Under the Influence isn’t a film about the Rolling Stones’ guitarist’s infamous reputation for substance abuse, but rather a trip through the legendary musician’s career and the musical artists whose influences shaped him. From blues legends like Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, to Nashville and Graham Parsons, up through collaborations with Chuck Berry and Tom Waits, the film at times feels like a patchwork that, when assembled, adds up to Keith Richards: Musical Artist.

And the film definitely wants you to see Richards as an artist, not the sideshow punchline more infamous for slurred speech, craggy appearance, and drug arrests. This is a film that wants nothing to do with winking cameos in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It’s an admirable take, and consistent with Neville’s approach to films, but I wonder if it’s an opportunity missed. With 20 Feet From Stardom, treating those female backup singers as artists foremost was the right call because Neville was making an iron-clad case for them as overlooked professionals. With Richards, yes his name has become something of an easy punchline, but it’s not like he or the Rolling Stones have ever been left wanting when it comes to the industry or critics. So in the end, having Richards take us on a tour through his musical influences feels pretty surface-y, like a day spent watching a Keith Richards-programmed VH1 Classic. There are moments where it feels like the movie could go another way. When Richards alludes to his public image and intimates that some of his persona is performative sleight-of-hand, I’m intrigued, but Neville doesn’t take us down that road.

But while the overall effect of the film is somewhat weightless, there are a few moments that demand attention and serve as highlights. One of them is a bit of footage from the Rolling Stones’ appearance on Hollywood Palace, where their rendition of Muddy Waters’ “I Just Want to Make Love to You” failed to impress host Dean Martin:

Even better is rehearsal footage of an argument between Richards and Chuck Berry during the filming of the 1987 documentary Hail Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll, where the jockeying for position among two music legends turns acrimonious and suddenly it’s the both of them hollering about their legacies. You can see a version of this tension in a scene from Hail Hail:

And finally, we get a contemporary scene of Richards and Tom Waits performing together, with the combined tone of their voices teaming up to produce enough gravel to pave 100 driveways. The below track is a decent enough approximation.

Keith Richards: Under the Influence is available on Netflix starting September 18th.

Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.

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