Film

Given Scorsese’s career-long infatuation with the Rolling Stones (“Gimme Shelter” is practically his theme song) and his notable previous forays into music docs (The Last Waltz, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan), it’s reasonable to expect something amazing when he and Mick get together for a film. And in the first ten minutes, the director teases us with the backstage doc that might have been. Jagger moans about the overly ornate set for an upcoming concert, suggesting that this crap has to be something “Marty wanted.” Scorsese gets increasingly agitated over Jagger’s refusal to settle on the playlist. Doesn’t he understand that the cameramen have to know what comes next? Great stuff.

Unfortunately, once the Stones take the stage, Scorsese relies on his 18 insanely qualified camera operators (John Toll, Andrew Lesnie, Robert Elswit…) and Jagger’s emaciated charisma to hold our attention. A few bits of old interview footage from the 1960s and ’70s are thrown in, but for the most part, this is Mick’s film. He struts and preens and tries to find a new way to phrase “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The performance is generally solid, and Jagger puts in a bid for hardest-working man in showbiz. But after the shrewd, in-depth analysis of No Direction Home, we expect more from Scorsese than two hours of perfectly framed close-ups of Mick.