The new doc “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band” lives up to its subtitle.
But if you’re reading this review, chances are that you already know all this, which speaks to one of the central challenges of a film like this. Anyone watching this movie is likely already convinced of the Band’s greatness, so the question becomes what there is to add.features some terrific footage of the group, onstage and in the studio, but much of it has already been floating around for years.
All of which leads us to what this film really is: Robbie Robertson’s side of the story. I suspected this going into the movie and frankly was open to it. For years Robertson has been a reviled figure among certain fans, his perceived villainy exacerbated by the immensely sad aftermath of the Band itself.
could have been a peacemaking gesture, a magnanimous work of reflection and tribute that would gather Robertson some belated goodwill, and the film’s first half makes some moves in that direction. But damned if that hatchet just won’t stay buried. As the film goes on it increasingly dwells on Manuel’s, Danko’s, and Helm’s respective descents into substance abuse, essentially implying that the Band broke up because the three men’s addictions had made them into dysfunctional co-workers.
The “Midnight Rambles” that he held at his farm in Woodstock, NY, to raise money for his medical treatment, were the stuff of legend, attracting artists ranging from Elvis Costello to Norah Jones to Allen Toussaint. Late in his life, while his cancer was in remission, Helm won Grammy Awards for a pair of critically acclaimed solo albums, 2007’s
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